RED
by MurphyPi
Summary: Mizuna was a proud kunoichi of Kirigakure and although her family's origin laid within Uzushio no Kuni, her loyalty to the Mizukage was unlimited. With eighteen years of age, the ninja life had already brought many hardships with it. But keeping a low profile became disproportionally difficult, once Mizuna was send on a mission, that led her right into the heart of Konohagakure.
1. Chapter 1 - Back again

_People have always feared, what they didn't know. That is at the end of all things, the hubris of humanity._

 _People especially fear, what seems to be uncontrollable. And so the people feared Uzushiogakure and the power of their fūinjutsu; so much so, that they allied together to completely destroy the village and massacre their inhabitants._

 _The survivors of the once prestigious Uzumaki Clan scattered all over the continent, taking on different names in fear of being discovered by their neighbours, colleagues or superiors and thus avoided execution. Over time, the knowledge about the survivors faded into obscurity and soon not everyone with red hair was shunned from society, 'just to make sure'. In the end, there was only one person still openly carrying the Uzumaki name and he was the jinchūriki of Konohagakure._

 _Another survivor had been Mizuna's father. But as so many others, he had abandoned his heritage, when he married and Mizuna did neither grow up under the Uzumaki name nor lived in Konoha. Publicly, Mizuna was a respected member of the ninja society and although she had the burgundy red hair of her family, she was never attacked for it. Secretly, the old ways of the Uzumaki lived on. Imparted from father to daughter and so the mastery of fūinjutsu remained in Uzumaki hands._

 _But keeping a low profile and not revealing her aspirations as an Uzumaki, became disproportionally difficult, once Mizuna was send on a mission, that led her right into the heart of Konohagakure._

* * *

Hi guys,

welcome to this little corner of the fanfiction universe. \o/

Since I discovered this website, I simply hung around here and read through all those stories given from and to each other, while always writing privately on so many projects, that I have lost count over the years. The Naruto fandom has been a constant over those years (due to it's mature themes and great character design) and I could fill hours talking about all the ideas I had…but none of them had felt so rounded like this one. Plus, I don't really have anyone in my environment, who has the slightest interest in reading Naruto fanfictions…

So I thought, here goes nothing and decided to upload something for the first time ever on this platform.

Just a few things beforehand (I'll try to keep it nice and short):

1) Please keep in mind, that English is not my first language (and due to my scholar education, I'm writing British English). If there are any native speakers stumbling over this story, they're invited to tell me any mistakes I made.

2) I'm writing for two reasons; for my own pleasure and to improve my skills, namely English writing and story telling. (Although I always hope, that one day I'll be able to really touch people with my writing…) So if you have any constructive criticism, you too are invited to tell me your honest opinion. Just keep in mind, that we're (hopefully) all civilised people and do not need to stoop as low as flames and hate.

3) And yes, there will be romance in this story (in some chapters even surprisingly much fluff by my standards… o.O), but I always try to keep it not the main focus of my stories. Therefore, bear with me, even if the pair is quite obvious, it will be a slow burn kind of relationship.

4) Another thing I always try to do, but which is certainly not the easiest thing (especially concerning that guy with gravity-defying grey hair…), is keeping the figures from Naruto in character. So, please, to all Naruto experts out there, feel free to tell me whether I keep our Naruto favourites in character or not! Praise is here as welcomed as constructive criticism.

5) There is always much going on in my real life, so in order to keep my uploads at least somewhat regularly, I'll only upload every other week on Sunday. (At least, that's what I'll try. But if you decide to follow my story, you'll fortunately get the notifications.)

So, now that you got through all of this, there's nothing more left for me to say, except: Enjoy and thanks for taking a chance with me!

xo

Murphy

* * *

 **Chapter 1 – Back again**

* * *

Mizuna wasn't entirely sure, what she had imagined Konohagakure to look like now. With a soft smile, she noticed that it hadn't changed that much. Since her last visit. She had always wondered, how less threatening the village seemed to outsiders. Especially because of the fact, that Konohagakure nestled itself to a high cliff with lots of open space and forest around, which was not very hidden in the common sense of the word. Mizuna had also wondered, how Konohagakure could be such a lively village, since it was positively vibrating and buzzing with life and good intentions. She furrowed her eyebrows a little bit and nibbled on the inside of her lower lip, as her steel-grey eyes narrowed to take in even more of the strange village, she couldn't see many guards, but that didn't mean they weren't there. It wasn't Mizuna's first visit to the Village Hidden in the Leaves and she was strangely happy to be back. But then again, her last visit was thirteen years ago and yes, she had remembered Konohagakure to be vivid and lively, but somehow this settlement of humankind had managed to grow even more happy and carefree. At least on the outside and especially compared to her own home.

The teenager took a deep breath, her hand pressing tighter to the trunk of the tree she was sitting in, before she lunched forward and jumped back down onto the street that lead into the village that once again had become her exhausting travels' destination. As her slightly heeled boots made soft noise on the road, Mizuna straightened her attire. The fishnet that could be seen from where her boots ended just below her knees, up to her black shorts, didn't need any straightening whatsoever, but the indigo-coloured quipao certainly needed it after days of travel. Mizuna ran her hands over the fine fabric, smoothing out the front. Her fingers shortly lingered on her hitai-ate, whose black band circled around her waist to hold the quipao at it's place. The quipao was slid up at both her sides completely from the bottom to the armpit, revealing Mizuna's pale skin and a burgundy-red bandeau top from time to time, because most of her showing skin was covered by the open, slate grey flat jacket she wore over her attire. For a second her delicate fingers traced the four waves, as she thought about how intelligent it actually would be to enter a foreign shinobi village with such a display of her loyalty. Automatically her muscles twitched to assure herself that her weapons where exactly where they should be, but Mizuna restrained herself, calling into her mind that she at least was expected by the Hokage. And on top of that, it was _her_ entering Konohagakure, not any other Kirigakure ninja. Three years she had lived among the citizens of Konoha, even if she hadn't seen much of the village, since she had been held close to her mentor, who had been already a very old lady, when she took Mizuna in to teach her.

However, all pondering and thinking proofed itself useless, since there were no obstacles for Mizuna. The two young men guarding the gate seemed to have been prepared for her arrival, since they didn't look all too surprised, when they saw her hitai-ate. They seemed to be older than her by some years but not many and for a second, Mizuna thought she remembered them from her previous visit. Internally shaking her head and focusing at the task at hand, she handed over her shinobi-ID.

"Mizuna Terumī, kunoichi of Kirigakure. I'm awaited by the Hokage", she said in a flat, indifferent voice, yet a small smile stole itself onto her full lips. No matter how much Mizuna tried to be all business and emotionless, she never actually could pull off the act. She just couldn't help but smile amused, when the one with the spiky hair couldn't stop staring at her meshed legs.

"That seems to be alright", the other one said and handed the ID back. "Kotetsu here is going to show you to the Hokage's office." This wasn't a question and Mizuna was somehow relieved to learn that at least some sort of security was ensured in Konoha.

"Thank you", Mizuna smiled and put he ID back into the folds of the bandeau around her chest. While her hands shortly vanished beneath her quipao, she could see the two men tense. At least, they were on guard and not trusting any stranger that just happened to march into their village.

"Just follow me, please", Kotestu, the one with the spiky hair, said and already started to walk. Mizuna followed and they soon fell into a comfortable pace.

"So…how has your travel been, Terumī-san? Hopefully without any trouble?", Kotetsu tried to stir a conversation.

"Exhausting, but without any disturbances fortunately, thank you", Mizuna answered and flashed her guide a polite smile. For a moment Kotetsu stumbled in his pace, as he saw the golden evening sun catch in her wild burgundy hair.

"Konohagakure is doing well", Mizuna continued the conversation and let her gaze roam freely over the buildings they passed on their way to the Hokage. "It actually grew pretty much since the last time I have been here", she added thoughtfully. That seemed to catch Kotetsu off guard, since he - again - faltered in his steps for a second.

"You have been here before?", he asked curious, his gaze on her.

"Yes, but it's already a pretty long time ago", Mizuna replied and shortly allowed herself to submerge into a pile of memories. "I visited a member of my family to train me", Mizuna said, as she thought of steaming hot green tea, smelled the scent of handmade Yakitori and heard a soft, already withered voice call her name tenderly.

"To train you? Well, then it can't be that long ago, right? You're not that old anyway", Kotetsu broached the subject again, still very curious. Mizuna shot him a calculating gaze, before she answered. It was obvious, she weighed her words carefully.

"I started training at an early age, so it's actually thirteen years ago, when I left Konohagakure", she said in her indifferent voice, before she continued. "But I think, we have reached our destination." Her slender hand was pointing at the big round building in front of them. Mizuna actually remembered this particular building very well, since she had spent a lot of her time in Konoha there.

As Mizuna was led into the Hokage's office, she started to get that certain, unpleasant tingly feeling in her belly. She was nervous. The Third Hokage would, among only few others, recognise her from her short time in Konoha. He was seen as a highly respected, well-loved leader and his words seen as wise and as valuable as pure gold. Mizuna however remembered one thing in particular, a rather harsh and ugly fight between Mito Uzumaki and Hiruzen Sarutobi. Mito Uzumaki had already been stricken with illness and weak to a point where she was just able to train Mizuna and yet had she fought to take in Naruto, who had to endure his miserable life in an orphanage ever since the death of his parents, regardless of his still living relative. That fight had been the first time Mizuna had seen her great-great-aunt and the Third Hokage not agreeing with each other, as she walked right into it. Clearly, Mizuna hadn't liked Hiruzen Sarutobi one bit with her little three year old heart in that moment. In her opinion, the bad old man had hurt her precious great-great-aunt, who had already been very close to death and therefore didn't deserve her respect. It was needless to say, that Hiruzen Sarutobi hadn't had one peaceful day in the remaining weeks, that Mizuna Terumī had lived within the Hokage Tower until Mito succumbed to her illness. And that was exactly the reason, why Mizuna was nervous. She now valued the few correspondences she had had with the Hokage, but she knew that her behaviour had been…well, that of a child.

The Hokage office looked exactly like Mizuna remembered, everything had it's place and order, the whole room was flooded with the light of the brisk morning and there, right behind the huge desk, just as if he was the only possible thing that could belong there, sat Hiruzen Sarutobi, Sandaime Hokage of Konohagakure. Mizuna immediately brought a hand over her heart and bowed deeply, her long hair fell over her shoulder and hid the anxiousness she couldn't quite ban from her face.

"You have grown Mizuna." The withered voice of the Hokage boomed through the office. "Mito-sama would have been very proud of you."

Just like that, Mizuna felt like a small child of three years again. She swallowed the lump, that always tightened her throat whenever Mito Uzumaki was mentioned.

"Thank you, Hokage-sama", she answered in a submissive tone. The loud laughter of the Hokage flowed around.

"But I can't remember you to be so well-mannered and formal, although Mito always tried to teach you better manners. Raise your head, Mizuna", Sarutobi said and Mizuna could hear the friendliness in his voice.

"I have not only grown physically, Hokage-sama", Mizuna answered, still in a low and formal tone. She stood tall and unwavering, her knees slightly bent, her pale eyes attentive of her surroundings, her back straight and her shoulders squared; the very picture of a well-trained kunoichi.

"Of course", Sarutobi answered in a kind of wistful way. "Now, I believe you are here with a mission and not to visit some old geezer. Although I would like to imagine, that to a certain point you also came to visit the old friend of your grand-aunt." Mizuna suppressed her smile at that and nodded. There was no longer the need to be nervous. She now understood, why her grand-aunt had always reprimanded her, whenever she had been rude to Hiruzen.

"Kirigakure learnt that your shinobi have killed Zabuza Momochi and Haku Yuki. I am here on behalf of our Mizukage to investigate said matter and retrieve the bodies", Mizuna answered, her mind now set on her mission and her tone again professional.

"Ah yes, I thought that would be the purpose of your visit", Sarutobi nodded and folded his hands in front of his mouth, while his eyes bored through Mizuna. "I have already sent for the shinobi, who led the mission." For a second everything was silent, Mizuna almost expected the door to open any moment to reveal said shinobi.

"You are free to reclaim your old room", Sarutobi then suddenly said, "and don't be so formal, when we are alone. You did not live and train with Mito-sama and me for three years to be a stranger now." Mizuna furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

"Thank you,…Hiruzen-sensei", she then answered in a less formal way, although she felt a bit strange about that, "but aren't we still in a meeting?"

"Ah…technically, yes. But you see, the shinobi I have sent for is always late, very late", Sarutobi explained and looked out of the window. "We have at least half an hour, before he appears." The prospect of a shinobi disrespecting his Kage in such a way made Mizuna purse her full lips in disapproval.

"Then I would like to address another matter, Hiruzen-sensei", Mizuna said after a second of silence, in which she mulled over her next steps. "The death date of Mito-sama is near and although my mission will not take as long, I would ask for your shelter a bit longer, so I can pay her respect. The Mizukage has no objection regarding this matter."

"But of course, Mizuna. Konohagakure would be honoured to have you on the death day of Mito-sama", Sarutobi immediately answered with a kind smile. Mizuna nodded and swallowed, she had another thing to ask for.

"Hiruzen-sensei", she began, her voice not as confident as before, "I have been to Uzushiogakure-"

"You have?", the Hokage interrupted her with surprise in his tone and wonder in his eyes.

"Yes, around three years ago", Mizuna answered and even if she continued to speak, she didn't miss the emotions that crossed over Sarutobi's face, "and I have retrieved many scrolls. One of them containing funeral rites of the Uzumaki clan. I hoped that probably…I could…maybe…" Mizuna swallowed again, as she felt her mouth go dry. She casted her eyes down onto her fidgeting hands. This matter was just so incredibly important to her, that she couldn't quite find the words to match her need.

"Of course, Mizuna", Sarutobi's voice was soft and caring, reassuring Mizuna in a way only a grandfather or father could. "Konohagakure would love to have you perform a ritual at Mito-sama's death day", he continued, before Mizuna could embarrass herself even more with her stuttering. Mizuna's head shot up and met the eyes of her former mentor.

"Thank you so much. It means so much to me", Mizuna's voice cracked a bit at her excitement and gratitude. "Thank you. Thank you, Hir- Hokage-sama." She had felt the chakra of someone approaching and changed effortlessly into the formal way of speaking. Her whole posture also went from relaxed and somewhat comfortable to straight and alerted.

"It is nothing, my dear child", Sarutobi assured and then turned his gaze towards one of the windows to his side. "Just the man we are waiting for, Kakashi Hatake." With his last words, a figure sprang upon the windowsill and crouched there, while assessing the situation carefully.

Mizuna remembered Kakashi Hatake and even if she didn't, she would have recognised him immediately due to the Bingo Book. But then again, what was there to not remember. Wild, grey hair that defied gravity; the hitai-ate over his left eye; his right eye black and seemingly emotionless, but always attentive; the mask over half of his face; the lean, muscled, battle seasoned body and that indifferent, leaned back attitude. Mizuna remembered Kakashi Hatake well. She remembered him as a rude, silent young man, that made his job as a shinobi to his life and didn't have anything besides his missions, even going so far as to recline the offer of a dinner together with Mito and her rather ill-mannered. Mizuna's eyes widened slightly at the change in his whole demeanour. He seemed more relaxed, more grounded and at ease with himself. But then again, thirteen years were a long time.

"Kakashi, this is Mizuna Terumī from Kirigakure", Sarutobi introduced Mizuna, once Kakashi had taken his place next to her and in front of the Hokage. Mizuna noticed, that he had chosen the place to her left, as if he wanted to have an eye on her. And true to her thoughts, when the Hokage talked, Kakashi shot a look at her. But there was no recognition in his eye, although Mizuna hadn't expected him to remember her. In the end, the difference between six — which was when she had left Konohagakure — and eighteen was arguably more changing, than a difference from fifteen to twenty-six.

"It is an honour to meet you, Hatake-san", Mizuna said and bowed slightly; mannerism and elegance in perfection. Kakashi's eyes narrowed a bit, as if he tried to think hard of something. Then a grin spread on his face from under his mask.

"I remember you", his voice a soothing baritone, but a smirk in his eye, as he leaned back a bit to get a better look at her, his hands deeply buried into the pockets of his trousers. "You're the brat, that clung to Mito-sama's coat-tails." Mizuna's well-mannered smile almost fell at that. Almost. But she kept it in place, like the well-trained kunoichi she was, only her eyes hardened a bit. The Hokage however cleared his throat in a way, as if he wanted to tell his shinobi to behave.

"Terumī-san", the Hokage emphasised the formal addressing strongly, "is here as a representative of the Mizukage. Kirigakure has asked for information regarding Zabuza Momochi and Haku Yuki, as well as to retrieve their bodies." Sarutobi shot a warning gaze at Kakashi, while Mizuna simply stood there, refusing to look at the other shinobi.

"I'd like to read the reports first, but probably have one or another question about the matter", Mizuna started in a very formal tone, before Kakashi had any chance to open his mouth and turned to him with a smile on her full lips. "It would be highly appreciated, if you could take time off your apparently barely manageable schedule and meet me tomorrow at noon at Ichiraku's, Hatake-san. Then you could answer my questions shortly and efficiently and we both can be on our merry, separated ways." Mizuna's smiled still and her tone was as formal and pleasant as ever, but there was something evil lurking behind her words and if Kakashi Hatake had been any lesser man, he would surely have shivered under her sickening sweet smile.

"Sure", he shrugged unimpressed. A muscle at Mizuna's jaw tightened.

"If it is alright with you, Hokage-sama, I'd like to retire to my room. The journey was exhausting and I'm sure that there is a lot of demanding work waiting for me tomorrow." Another side blow at Kakashi, who took it absolutely indifferent.

"Of course, I imagine you still know your way around?", the Hokage asked, highly amused by the spectacle in front of him.

"Yes, I do, thank you for your concern, Hokage-sama", Mizuna answered and then bowed to him, "I will see you at dinner." Then she turned and shortly bowed at Kakashi, "Until tomorrow at twelve o'clock, Hatake-san." Her voice wasn't as pleasant as when she talked to the Hokage, it rather promised nothing short of pain if he dared to be late. With that she left the office and closed the door behind herself.

Kakashi looked after her, still unimpressed or at least it seemed like he was unimpressed. But in the end, he had heard many hounds barking but never saw them biting, so he wasn't very concerned.

"Ah, Kakashi", the Hokage smirked, his eyes on his student's student, "that was an unwise move." Kakashi turned his eye towards the old man, a silent question and scepticism in them.

"It never bodes well for a man to anger a Terumī woman. Never." Hiruzen Sarutobi grinned behind his folded hands. He would be sure to send someone to watch their meeting tomorrow. How else would he get his amusement within the demanding task of being Hokage, if not spying on his shinobi. Especially when they angered a Terumī.


	2. Chapter 2 - An unpleasant meeting

Hi guys,

here's chapter two.

Enjoy your read and maybe also have a look at my notes at the end of the chapter.

xo

Murphy

* * *

The morning had begun very early for Mizuna. As it had been her routine from when she had started her training with her late father, she rose from her bed long before the sun could send her first rays carefully into the village. She had asked the Hokage the night before at dinner, whether she would be allowed to use the old training ground, she had used with Mito Uzumaki and had found the old man nodding with a grin and the question not to overdo it. The training ground was close to the Hokage tower, shielded by many high walls and Mizuna had felt all the love and sadness that came with her memories of her dear mentor, as she had walked onto the small field and started her morning training.

Mizuna had not been able to prohibit herself from also honouring a habit she had developed during her stay in Konoha. Whenever Mito and her had finished the morning training, Mito had needed to sleep some more due to her illness and Mizuna had sat upon the head of Hashirama Senju. Through all the stories she had heard about him from her great-great-aunt, Mizuna felt strangely connected to him and therefore, she had begun to sit upon his head to watch the sun rise, as long as Mito had slept.

And there she was now. On top of the first Hokage's stone face, cherishing the view of the rising sun above the village. The soft pink morphed slowly into a bright orange and the life awakened beneath the rays. Mizuna smiled softly, as she felt herself relax. She exhaled and closed her eyes. In her trance-like state, Mizuna almost expected a small sparrow, the summon of Mito Uzumaki, to call her to breakfast. But there was no sparrow and there was no breakfast made by her great-great-aunt. Mizuna sighed, as her throat tightened at the memories. A lone tear fell down onto her cheek, almost crystalline in the light of the waking day.

* * *

It was many hours later, when Mizuna got a breath of fresh air for the next time. She had buried herself in the room the Hokage had provided her with and read through the report of the mission many times. It said, that Zabuza Momochi and Haku Yuki had fought Team 7 under Kakashi Hatake over the course of two battles and that Haku Yuki had died protecting Zabuza Momochi, who himself had succumbed to his wounds only shortly after. The report was nice enough, but Mizuna had the feeling, that it didn't tell everything — especially since she knew, that the jinchūriki of the Kurama was involved. Mizuna shuddered at the thought of the demon and deeply rooted guilt rose it's ugly head inside of her. But Mizuna swallowed the bitter taste on her tongue and thought about her mission. She did not believe, that Zabuza Momochi simply succumbed to his wounds and she didn't quite think, that Team 7 would have been able to fight those two with no casualties — no matter how strong Kakashi Hatake was said to be.

Finally getting some sun light again, Mizuna was on her way to the cemetery of Konoha, to pay her respects to her late great-great-aunt. The fire sculpture at the entrance always made her stop and bow her head in respect. Mito had always talked about the Will of Fire, which had been deeply embodied in her husband and consecutively also burned brightly in Mito herself. Mizuna liked to think, that she had herself obtained a certain variation of the Will of Fire after her training with Mito, but would never dare to say so, as she was an outsider to Konoha, although she felt herself connected to the village — at least solely due to her clan's former affiliation with the Land of Fire.

Mizuna walked further into the cemetery, carrying the traditional wooden tub filled with water and made her way to Mito Senju's grave. It was a beautiful one with a delicate stone. There was no big fuss around the grave, it looked just like any other, as Mito had wanted it. She had never liked to be held above any citizen of Konohagakure and as she had lived by that, she had wanted to be in death also like everyone else. Mizuna understood her great-great-aunts wishes and had together with her father organised Mito's tomb to be as unspectacular as any other — with the help of Hiruzen Sarutobi even against the wishes of the village elders.

"Konnichiwa, oba-sama", she said and went to clean the stone with a brush. "It has been a very long time, hasn't it?", she continued with a soft smile, as she scraped off any strains. But the grave was well-kept and there were no weeds for her to pluck out and not many stains to scrape off. So Mizuna went to offer her great-great-aunt the red lilies she had brought and put them in the vase, before she poured a bit of the water over the stone. Mizuna then sunk into a praying position in front of the grave, her hands flat together and her eyes closed.

"Like I promised, I always remember your words, oba-sama. I also try to live by them, even if it's hard sometimes", Mizuna whispered, her voice low and heavy with emotion. "Just as you wished, I visited Uzushiogakure. It was—", she had to stop and swallow her tears. Her eyes wandered to the writing on the stone in front of her, but they didn't see, they were unfocused and hazed with pain.

"There was so much destruction", she continued barely audible, "…so much violence. There is nothing left of the beautiful, flourishing village you told me stories about… Nothing left of sobo-san." Mizuna had to stop again, as her throat tightened.

"I tried to find their graves…to pay my ancestors the respect they deserve…but…", Mizuna swallowed the tears threatening to flow, "all was destroyed. Everything lay in ruins." Her voice became more frantic, almost haunted as she spoke.

"And in between the masses of ruins…bones…human bones. So many of them. Our family…scattered like food animals feasted upon. All in ruins. All destroyed and lost."

A soft sob shook her body. But before the tears could flow in rivers, Mizuna composed herself. She breathed in and out and remembered her training as a kunoichi. Focused solely on her deep breaths, she fought the cold panic and battled the rise of her demons, until she was perfectly calm again. Usually she would light herself a cigarette, but she knew, that her great-great-aunt would not appreciate that certain habit of hers.

"As you said, they didn't find it. They never got to the archives", Mizuna continued, her voice now low and hushed as if she spoke to a companion about treacherous conspiracy. "But _I_ did. I found, what you told me to find. I will fulfil our dream", she whispered the last words so low, they were only heard by the wind that picked up her long, red hair. Mizuna finally averted her eyes from the grave and focused them onto the red lilies. The deep grey of her eyes showed how haunted she still was by the sights she had witnessed, but there was a small gleam of determination in them. Raw and yet to grow into a blazing fire, but nonetheless existing.

* * *

Mizuna found herself wandering through the village towards the Memorial Stone, as a clock somewhere close rang twelve. Without a single care about being late, Mizuna pulled out her packs of cigarettes and light one of them. The thought of Kakashi Hatake didn't disrupt her merry walk, because she knew, that he would not be at their meeting point, not for at least another hour or so. Therefore she had decided to visit yet another member of her family, after she had payed her respects to her great-great-aunt. Truth was, Mizuna had known Kushina Uzumaki and her husband Minato Namikaze not very well, since they had all been very occupied with their lives and only met every so often; but Mizuna had felt deeply inspired by the wild woman, who was a cousin to her father.

Another bouquet of red lilies in her hands, Mizuna arrived at the Memorial Stone and stopped in mid-step at the sight in front of her. Kakashi Hatake sat in front of the Memorial Stone, as if he had all the time in the world.

"Well, this is a surprise", she said and stepped next to him. Her eyes did not search for his, but instead, she locked them on the names she dreaded to read.

"Terumī-san", Kakashi greeted in a neutral tone, but when Mizuna shot him a look and a nod, she imagined something akin to surprise to have appeared in his visible eye. Not caring further about him, she offered the flowers and gently put them on the foot of the Stone. Her eyes shortly lingered on the names of Kushina and Minato, but then she stepped back and put her hands together in a silent prayer. She could feel her heart wail about the loss of those incredible people. Her great-great-aunt had been so broken, after Kushina had died and even after all the pain Mizuna had already encountered in her short life, she couldn't imagine how it must have felt for the old lady to bury her young successor. In the end, she hadn't been able to survive the loss and died only weeks after Kushina and Minato.

"Hatake-san", Mizuna said, once she finished her prayer and turned towards the jōnin. "Now that I found you even before schedule, how do you feel about accompanying me to Ichiraku's?", her tone was low and neutral, but lacked the malice from the day before. She did not ask, who he was visiting, although she remembered faintly, that he had been Minato's student at one point. In the end, it was not her place to know. But if he was here, and obviously already for a long time, then maybe there was a reason for his antics and well-known tardiness.

"Didn't you want to meet there half an hour ago?", the grey-haired shinobi asked, as he stood from the ground. He towered almost a head above Mizuna's delicate frame, but his stance was relaxed and nowhere near intimidating.

"I was informed about your usual habit of being late and decided to make better use of the time, instead of waiting for you", Mizuna answered and couldn't ban the sharpness completely from her voice. Kakashi simply chuckled and turned to walk away. Mizuna's jaw locked and her eyes narrowed at that. Even if he had changed his attitude almost completely to when she had last seen him thirteen years ago, he apparently was still rather rude.

"What are you waiting for, Terumī-san? We'll be late", he called over his shoulder, when Mizuna didn't follow him immediately. She took a deep breath to reign in her temper and caught up to him in the blink of an eye. They did not talk, while they walked next to each other, but although Mizuna was more than annoyed by his behaviour, she could feel her anger slowly fade away, the longer the silence between them lingered. There was just something soothing about his presence, that kept her from harbouring her dark feelings any longer. And that, of course, annoyed her even more.

* * *

"Yo", Kakashi lazily greeted, once they entered the famous ramen shop. Mizuna entered right behind him, still annoyed and eager to get this conversation over with, so she could send her report to her Mizukage and be done with Kakashi Hatake.

"Well, hello Kakashi-san", Teuchi boomed in his deep voice. "What can I get for you and your companion?", he asked, once he noticed Mizuna step up to the counter from behind his back.

"The usual", Kakashi simply answered and flopped down onto one of the chairs at the bar.

"A regular ramen, please", Mizuna answered, but didn't sit down. Teuchi, already working on their orders, looked from one of them to the other.

"You on a date or something?", he asked with a grin in Kakashi's direction. The whole village had already given up on seeing their favourite jōnin happy with a woman, that was not printed on pages and here he was, eating out with a foreign, beautiful, although a bit young woman.

"Business meeting, actually", Mizuna answered nonchalantly, while Kakashi's one eye wandered amusedly to her, "so could you make the food, so we can take it with us?" It was, when her tone remained so utterly neutral, that Teuchi stopped in his movements and looked at her with an surprised look.

"What?", Mizuna asked with that sweet smile of hers that didn't quite reach her grey eyes. "I don't do rude, lazy and perverted", she continued with a careless shrug and a pointed look at the ever present book in Kakashi's hands. Teuchi simply shook his head and returned to his work, by the looks of his customers not sure if _she_ joked or not and if _he_ was amused or offended. So the shop owner decided to stay out of it. Somewhere on top of the roof, hidden in the shadows of a nearby tree, the female ANBU with a wolf mask, that Hiruzen Sarutobi had ordered to follow them was silently chuckling and saying to herself, that her Hokage would love to hear her report.

It didn't take long for the two ninja to get their food, safely packed away in boxes and handed to them together with chopsticks and a spoon. When they exited the shop, Kakashi's visible eye gleamed with amusement.

"Where now?", he asked with mocking in his tone. Mizuna simply looked at him and vanished. Kakashi knew, that she wanted him to follow her, but he allowed himself to finish the chapter, before he followed her chakra signature. A lazy grin pulled on his mouth underneath the mask, when he found her a few moments later on the head of Hashirama Senju. Her long legs crossed — which showed off a lot more than Kakashi had thought, since her quipao was now not covering them anymore — and she herself already chewing on her noodles.

"It's rude to not wait to eat", he said with teasing mirth in his tone, as he sat down next to her.

"Thought I match your mannerisms for a moment, just before my food gets cold, you know?", she answered, but didn't even bother to look up. Kakashi couldn't help but to chuckle at her. He would have said she reminded him of a young pup out playing for the first time, but her claws were too sharp and her pride too defined for that, so he settled on a little kitten eager to proof herself instead.

"So, was there a point in taking up time in my apparently barely manageable schedule? Other than eating out with me?", Kakashi asked after a while, purposely using a side blow at her words from yesterday and at Teuchi's question. But Mizuna didn't even blush the slightest bit, much to Kakashi's disappointment.

"The report doesn't add up", Mizuna simply answered in a strictly professional tone, "not if you know the victims and Naruto." Kakashi's eye narrowed. He wolfed down his bowl of miso ramen, while he thought about his answer.

"You sure got an appetite there", Mizuna commented dryly and somewhat disgusted. "Eating so fast, can't be healthy", she continued and brought her chopsticks to her mouth. She hadn't even tried to see his face without the mask.

"Are you concerned for my health?", Kakashi asked with a grin, once again mocking her.

"Not exactly, since I don't know you", she answered with a shrug and finally looked at him. "I just commented your strange habit." With that she returned to her own bowl and Kakashi grinned again.

"So you just care about people you know?", he pressed, his eye observing her every reaction. Mizuna furrowed her forehead and looked at him with a slightly tilted head.

"You are neither next of kin, nor a friend or even an acquaintance, furthermore you don't seem to be in any danger or pain to me, so there's no need for my concern", she answered in a neutral tone, but then her lips pulled into a sickeningly sweet smile, "unless of course the loss of braincells you obviously had to endure at some point still hurts you. Then I ask you to excuse my harsh behaviour." Kakashi grinned widely, of course unseen by her.

"Nah, all fine up there", he answered and showed his smile in his eye.

"If you say so", she replied nonchalantly and slurped down the last bit of her broth. "I'm not trained to judge brain damage." Kakashi grinned, she was definitely an interesting conversation partner.

"Now, back to topic", Mizuna said, after she neatly put away her box, chopsticks and spoon. Kakashi tilted his head to indicate, that he listened.

"Naruto's seal broke for a moment, right?"

Kakashi stilled in all his movements. His eye scrutinised the woman next to him. This question alone told him so much about her. She knew obviously about the Kyūbi and about the seal imprisoning it inside the boy. But if that was all she knew, she would have questioned whether the seal broke or not. Her question was constructed in a way that indicated, that she already knew, that his seal had leaked. Kakashi narrowed his eye and his mouth morphed from a grin into a thin line, although the last was unseen by her. She must have read the report and judged the strength of all parties involved in the fight, then she must have come to the conclusion, that it didn't add up. Just like she said. To every other person, he would have simply explained something about the effects of adrenaline in the first fight to death, but Kakashi had a hunch, that he wouldn't get away with that. Not with her.

"It leaked for some time, yes", he finally answered. His tone had lost all it's playfulness and his whole demeanour had changed to serious.

"For how long exactly?", she wanted to know. Her intense, grey eyes were fixed on him and her mouth thin with concern, while the wind softly played with her long, red hair. Kakashi had a hard time not to be distracted by all of that. But then again, he was professional enough to not be distracted by looks, if one was potentially dangerous.

"Why do you want to know that?", he shot back. He saw the muscles on her jaw tighten and her eyes grew a bit more steely — a tell-tale for her being annoyed.

"It is of essential importance, to know how long his seal leaked. Knowing that time frame, I will be able to judge whether his seal needs to be renewed or not", she answered in a clipped voice. And then Kakashi remembered, that she had trained under Mito Senju. He never knew, why the old lady had taken her in, but she did and Mizuna's knowledge about Naruto apparently originated from those teachings.

"Probably three minutes", he then answered honestly, "not longer than five." Mizuna started to chew on the inside of her lower lip. Something Kakashi hadn't seen her do as of yet, but he found nonetheless interesting. It was obviously a sign of deep thought. It was fascinating for him to see, how open and readable her expressions were and yet didn't tell anything about what she truly thought at all.

"Then I don't think a renewal is necessary", she said after a long period of silence. "Maybe it's not bad, if he actually has some interaction with him." The last part was mumbled and Kakashi wasn't sure, whether it was for his ears to hear or not. So he choose to ignore but remember it.

"Who defeated Zabuza Momochi?", she then suddenly changed the topic. Kakashi furrowed his eyebrows at that question. There was a certain undertone in her voice, almost as if she was strangely detached, whenever she said that name. He had noticed it before, but right now, with only this question and his name, it was more than obvious, that there was some sort of story.

"I did", he answered cautiously.

"You inflicted enough damage on him, to make him bleed out, yes, but you didn't defeat him", Mizuna accused, her eyes once again intensely staring at him and Kakashi was sure, that she tried hard to observe his reactions. "The report from the medical team mentioned wounds on his body, that couldn't have been inflicted by neither you nor your team. Unless of course, one of you suddenly walked around carrying weapons that are customary to the private guard stationed in Nami no Kuni." The last two sentences were added by her, when Kakashi had remained silent. A soft mocking in her words and a hard stare in her eyes.

"If you already know the truth, why ask?", Kakashi wanted to know, honestly interested in why she had wanted to talk to him, when she already knew everything by reading the report. Not only reading the words, but also what was left out and concluding the right thing. Something he couldn't help but be slightly impressed by. But then again, he didn't expect any less from a kunoichi that was send by the Mizukage to investigate the death cases of Zabuza Momochi and Haku Yuki. She had to be at least somewhat capable.

"I need to have absolutely everything confirmed, before I send a report to my Mizukage", Mizuna answered and looked away from Kakashi. For a moment he thought, that this would be all the answer he would get to his question, as she started to pull out a pack of cigarettes, tapped one out and light it with a match. She took a pull on her cigarette, inhaled and blew out the smoke in circles. But then she opened her mouth again, her eyes still trained on something far from his sight.

"Our Mizukage strives to bring happiness back to Mizu no Kuni after the long time of suffering we had to endure", her tone was sober and her expression neutral. "She can't afford to make any mistakes at all or we will be faced with a civil war within our own borders. I'm telling you this, because I know you already know of the state my land is in." Her eyes shortly wandered to him, but then returned to stare in front of her. "There is nothing new in telling you, that our Mizukage can't have a report only halfheartedly investigated by her underlings. Therefore I'm as thorough as I can be. You do understand that, don't you?"

Her sharp eyes turned to him again and her intense stare had Kakashi unable to look away. He, in fact, did understand what was at stake in Mizu no Kuni, should their current Mizukage fail. But in this moment, Kakashi also understood, that this young woman in front of him would do anything to ensure, that her leader and village did not falter. And to his utter surprise, this was a disposition they shared.

* * *

Hi guys,

here I am again, hoping to sweeten your Sunday. :)

First of all: you are amazing guys! 4 follows and 4 favourites for the first chapter?! You are the best! Also thanks for everyone reading the first chapter. Big hugs to you all!

Now, there's a small issue I wanted to address here and feel free to skip it, if you hate authors rambling on after their story, when all you (hopefully) want is the next chapter. I'll mark the end of the rambling. ;)

As you have read, Mizuna is a smoker. I have thought many hours about that particular character trait, because I personally think of smokers as rather stupid people. Sorry, if I offend any of you and in the end it is your decision, what you do to your body. But since every piece of text (especially fiction, in which we may or may not identify ourselves with the characters) is influencing the reader, I feel responsible for what I write and what you read into it.

Just let me get this straight: I do not in any way support smoking. I have seen people dear to my heart die due to lung cancer and it is really not pretty. It is painful for everyone and easier to avoid, than so many other illnesses. Therefore I feel compelled (especially since Mizuna is such a heavy smoker) to tell you, that there are reasons for this habit of hers, which are revealed later in the story. Mizuna is NOT smoking, because it was cool in the 1950s. Mizuna is NOT smoking to stay slim. Mizuna is NOT smoking, because of social pressure. There are well-thought reasons behind that unhealthy habit and they will be revealed piece for piece, chapter for chapter. The endgame is (at least in my head) to have Mizuna quit smoking at approximately the mid of the story due to plot and character development.

So please, do not consider that trait of hers as cool or desirable.

 _End of rambling._

Welcome back to all, who skipped ahead. :)

As I already said in the first chapter: I am open for constructive criticism, praise and hints on needed improvements regarding my writing or the correctness of the characters' behaviour and pointers to every mistake I probably made in English.

Thanks for reading and until Sunday in two weeks.

xo

Murphy

PS.: I'm doing the NaNoWriMo this month. If it works out like I hope it will, I might be able to increase the upload rate to once a week. That is, if you'd like that?


	3. Chapter 3 - The TonTon

Hi guys,

long time no see...

Sorry for that, but here I am, back again, with a new chapter!

I hope you enjoy it. :)

xo

Murphy

* * *

 **Chapter 3 - The TonTon**

* * *

One month.

Mizuna was already one whole month in Konohagakure and it was only one more day, until the death day of Mito Uzumaki, the reason she still wasn't on her way home. Her report on the Momochi case had been sent to her Mizukage weeks ago, together with the rolls that held the bodies of Zabuza Momochi and Haku Yuki. Her mission was finished, she now was on something like a vacation. Or rather leave of active work due to personal matters. But then again, Mizuna's sole presence in Konohagakure was some sort of diplomatic exchange between the two hidden villages in itself.

In the weeks she had spent in the foreign land, Mizuna had soon adopted the routine she had had many years ago. First training before sunrise, breakfast with Hiruzen Sarutobi and then meditation, training and some wandering around the village. Every once in a while, Hiruzen had asked for her to talk through some matters that involved Kirigakure or to watch over Konohamaru for a while, but usually her days were filled with training, meditation and idleness.

Mizuna walked aimlessly through the village of Konohagakure that early afternoon. The smell of freshly grilled fish and sweet dango lingered in the air all around and Mizuna took in a deep breath with a small smile. For a second, she closed her eyes and thought about her home. The smell of fresh fish always reminded her of her home village, that was indeed surrounded by water and mist. For a moment, she was back home, where she felt the humidity in the air and the whispers of the sorrow stricken villagers, who slowly gained hope.

In the next moment, Mizuna was rather harshly brought back into reality, when she bumped into someone. She caught herself with the grace of a seasoned warrior and opened her eyes immediately. Right in front of her, just holding his balance, was a young man, probably four or five years older than herself with a prominent scar over the bridge of his nose.

"Oh, I'm so sorry", Mizuna apologised in an instant. She scolded herself internally for not paying attention to her surroundings. The image of all her teachers groaning at her for getting lost in memory again, would have made her blush in embarrassment, if she had any less control over her emotions. The same couldn't be said about the guy she had run into. He was blushing furiously.

"No, no. It was my fault!", he immediately said and brought his hands up in a motion of surrender.

"Really?", Mizuna asked, one eyebrow lifted and a small smirk on her lips. "Because I could have sworn by the money and fish in your hand, that you just bought something from the shop, when I walked into you." She pointed at the items in his hands and then to the small street shop next to them, whose owner seemed rather interested in their conversation.

"Oh, well, that…", he stuttered and struggled to put away the money.

"Just accept my honest apology", Mizuna grinned and offered to hold his fish for the time he needed to fetch his purse. The man finally managed to sort his things out and take back his fish, before he signalled for her to walk with him. His discomfort with the staring shop owner was more than obvious, so Mizuna humoured him.

"Then I accept your apology", he said, as they walked side by side, "although it is unnecessary."

"I bump into you, I apologise. Simple as that", Mizuna replied and found herself very amused by the whole situation.

"Iruka Umino", he suddenly blurted out and Mizuna's face shortly contorted with confusion.

"Ehm…that's my name", he clarified, while his free hand went up to scratch his chin. "Iruka Umino, that's me." Mizuna's confusion grew into realisation and a well-trained smile adorned her lips.

"Mizuna Terumī", Mizuna answered the unspoken question with a polite tone. The man next to her shot her a look of uncertainty.

"Terumī as in Mizukage Mei Terumī?", he questioned unsure, while he slowed down his steps considerably.

"The very one. She's my maternal aunt", Mizuna answered with a soft smile, that made Iruka almost drown in it's display of honest devotion.

"Oh", was all that Iruka felt himself able to say. "But what are you doing here then? All on your own?", he continued after a while. They still walked next to each other and in the back of her mind Mizuna found herself wondering, where exactly they were walking to, but dismissed it as she wouldn't have done any walking with a more defined destination without Iruka and now she had at least entertainment.

"I completed a mission, that needed my presence here", Mizuna answered vaguely, as it was custom and everyone knew not to ask more, "but now I'm on some kind of vacation." She shrugged nonchalantly.

"A vacation?", Iruka asked sceptically, his kind brown eyes fixed on her.

"Kind of vacation", Mizuna repeated, "but I'll be going back home tomorrow or the day after tomorrow." It had always been Mizuna's plan to start her journey back to Mizu no Kuni either in the evening of Mito's death day or the day after that.

"What already?", Iruka asked somewhat disappointed and Mizuna couldn't help but to feel a bit sorry for him. He was a nice, polite fellow.

"How long have you been here?", he continued to inquire.

"For about a month now", Mizuna answered, not sure in which direction the conversation was going.

"And I just now saw you? What did you do this whole month?", Iruka questioned, his eyes wide in shock and his feet finally stopping their movement altogether.

"I trained and walked around and sat in trees", Mizuna replied, her head slightly tilted and still confused, why this caused such a strong reaction from her companion.

"What about intercultural exchange? Did you get to know any locals? You can't just be here on vacation and do…nothing", Iruka was now really worked up and his voice slightly rose in volume.

"I didn't do nothing", Mizuna defended herself a bit miffed. "I trained." Iruka shot her an unbelieving look and Mizuna hurried to continue. "Concerning people…I reacquainted myself with your Hokage and had a short business meeting with one of your shinobi." The last person was added with some underlying resentment.

"That is not enough!", Iruka almost shouted and then he straightened his back. "We need to work on intercultural relationships—"

"We two in particular or generally speaking?", Mizuna asked with a smirk and couldn't help herself but to mock him a bit. Iruka immediately blushed a deep crimson.

"N-no…generally sp-speaking…unless of-of c-course…", Iruka stuttered and eventually trailed off.

"Generally speaking", Mizuna helped him, "what would you suggest would help intercultural relationships?" The smirk was still present on her features and Iruka was still blushing, although not as furiously as before. It was more a light shade of pink by now.

"Take a drink with me", he answered and at Mizuna's pointed look, his face turned again more tomato red, "NO! I mean with friends! Yes…come and have some drinks with friends…and me…and some friends." Iruka's breathing was shallow and his eyes had a slightly horrified look in them, but Mizuna just found herself thinking of him as one cute guy.

"I'd like to have some drinks with you and your friends", she released him from his embarrassment with a kind smile.

"Then…do you know the TonTon?", Iruka asked and when Mizuna nodded, he continued, "there at seven? I'll introduce you to my friends and we all can get some drinks together."

"I'll be there", Mizuna assured and could see, how the tenseness left Iruka's body and he seemed to be rather pleased with himself.

"Then until seven", Iruka said again. "I got to go now. Put my fish away and…stuff…", he awkwardly trailed off.

"Do that", Mizuna grinned also slightly awkward.

"Okay…then, bye T-terumī-san", Iruka babbled on, but stumbled slightly over her last name.

"Mizuna's just fine", Mizuna offered the poor man in front of her, whose whole features seemed to light up at that.

"But only, if you call me Iruka!", he almost shouted at her, startling Mizuna a bit.

"Of course, Iruka-san", she replied calmly and again Iruka blushed slightly.

"Then…until seven, Mizuna-san", Iruka bid his goodbyes once more.

"Yes, until seven", Mizuna once again answered with the patience of a visitor of a slug race.

"Yes, bye Mizuna-san", Iruka said — again — before he finally turned and walked away. But not without turning at least twice and waving at her. Mizuna simply shook her head with an amused smile. The light softening of her eyes immediately steeled back into a stony hardness, once she discovered the small swallow on the roof of the house next to her. With nothing but the inaudible swirl of wind, Mizuna vanished.

* * *

At seven pm sharp, Mizuna stood in front of the infamous TonTon. Some even said, that the respected Tsunade had named her pet after that bar, since it was her favourite, but Mizuna dared to not believe that. Tsunade Senju was indeed one of a kind, but she was not that prone to alcohol and gambling; at least, Mizuna hoped that this was the case. For a moment, Mizuna had contemplated to send Iruka a message, that she wasn't coming. The remainders of her day after meeting the young man, had taken a turn for the worse and she was just now coming out of a long, serious meeting with the Hokage. The young woman sighed deeply. But then Mizuna had thought about how rude a cancellation would have been and so here she was.

"Mizuna-san!", Iruka yelled from a bit away and waved at her. Immediately a loose smile found it's way on Mizuna's face and as if by reflex, she threw her cigarette on the floor and snuffed it out with one foot.

"Hello, Iruka-san", she greeted him, when he finally caught up to her and they both entered the bar. He held the door open for Mizuna, who felt as if she stepped into a whole other world. The peacefully quietness of the streets was left behind and exchanged by laughter, chatter and low music playing in the background. The atmosphere in the bar was lighthearted and absolutely infectious. The light was dimmed, but not so much, that one could not see each other and the music was there, but not too loud, so that one was still able to talk to each other.

Iruka led Mizuna towards a large table in the back corner of the bar room and when she saw, who sat there, her face light up and her steely eyes softened into the silky silver they only rarely showed. Before Iruka could introduce his friends to Mizuna, the large frame of a shinobi blocked his sight, as he stood from the table and embraced Mizuna in a tight hug.

"Mizu-chan", he laughed incredulously and even lifted her up, to swing her in a circle a few times.

"Asuma-nii! Stop it!", Mizuna laughed as well, what kind of took away the edge from her scolding words. But Asuma nonetheless stopped and put her down in front of him.

"The old geezer didn't say anything about you", he immediately complained. "Here I come back from a mission, thinking nothing bad and just taking a couple of drinks with my friends and in you come! Haven't seen you in — what? Eight years?"

"Six, actually", Mizuna answered with a wide smile. "You look good, oni-chan." Mizuna declared, once she scrutinised the man in front of her.

"And you grew so much…", Asuma answered, while he held her at an arm's length away. "Look at you! Do I need to scare away any boys?" He laughed thunderingly at his last words and Mizuna chimed in with her light bell-like laugh.

"Don't worry, oba-san is pretty good at scaring away any male that shows even the slightest interest", Mizuna answered assuringly.

"That's good", Asuma grumbled satisfied. "You're way too young to date. How old are you now any way?" His eyes narrowed, as he tried to calculate how old Mizuna was, when he last had seen her.

"Eighteen, Asuma-nii", Mizuna answered to save him from the embarrassment of not remembering how old she was, when they had last met.

"See", Asuma nodded to himself, "way too young for men." Behind him, they could hear the chuckle of a woman. Mizuna slightly bend herself and looked around Asuma, to see a woman with beautiful red eyes and wavy black hair chuckle at them.

"Since when is eighteen too young, Asuma?", she asked with mirth in her tone. "I remember a certain someone already breaking hearts at that age." Asuma slightly blushed and coughed to cover his embarrassment.

"How do you two know each other so…closely?", Iruka chimed in, his face the allegory of dumbfounded.

"Until thirteen years ago, I trained under Mito-sama", Mizuna explained, before Asuma could embarrass her in any way. "And you can't live with the Hokage and his kin for three years without being adopted into the family."

"This young lady here caused so much trouble, she needed a big brother to look out for her", Asuma added lightheartedly. It went unsaid, that at that time Asuma had lost his sister and brother-in-law and had equally needed someone to look after him.

"Oh, I remember you", the woman with the red eyes suddenly said with a big smile. "I'm Kurenai. Don't you remember me?" Mizuna narrowed her eyes and really looked at the woman sitting at the table. Then suddenly she remembered something and her eyes widened in realisation.

"You are the girl, whose picture was on Asuma-nii's nightstand!", she exclaimed in childish joy, but the smirk in her smile told them all, that she knew exactly, what she was doing here. Asuma immediately turned tomato red and stuttered something about Mizuna not saying the truth. Kurenai simply laughed, but Mizuna could have sworn, that she also had a slight blush colouring her cheeks.

"That's reassuring. Back then, Asuma always talked about you. Girl could have become jealous 'bout that", Kurenai said, still grinning widely and offered Mizuna the place next to her, where Asuma had sat before. Mizuna shook her head and pushed Asuma back on his place, so she could sit down next to him. Asuma now in the decidedly unfortunate situation to sit between his unofficial girlfriend and his informal adopted sister. Iruka simply shook his head and sat down next to Mizuna.

"You said you didn't know anyone", he whispered towards Mizuna.

"I never said that", she smirked deviously, "you asked whether I got to know any locals. Asuma is more like family to me and we are regularly in contact, plus I haven't seen him until right now. And to be honest, I wouldn't have remembered Kurenai-san. Sorry for that." Mizuna said the last sentence to her right towards Kurenai, who simply shrugged nonchalantly and waved dismissively at the younger woman.

"Well, then let me at least introduce you to the rest of the crew", Iruka said and mentioned towards the guy who sat on Kurenai's right side and who Mizuna just now really noticed. He had brown hair, a blue bandana that included his hitai-ate and a senbon in his mouth.

"That's Genma Shiranui", Iruka introduced him.

"And that's Ebisu Ota", Iruka pointed at the young man next to Genma, who wore his circled, black sunglasses even in the darkness of the bar.

"Guys, this is Mizuna Terumī", Iruka finished his introductions and Mizuna slightly bowed her head at them.

"It's nice to meet you", she said, like the perfect lady she was trained to be.

"Well, you can't have your manners from Asuma", Genma commented on her polite attitude with a well-aimed side blow at his friend.

"No, she's got that from Mito-sama", Asuma said, "but watch out for her temper. She got that from her aunt."

"That's so not true!", Mizuna immediately defended her aunt. "I may have gotten the approach on men from my aunt, but my temper is solely courtesy of my father." Mizuna's eyes narrowed at her adopted brother, who held his hands up defensively, but the smile on both their faces indicated the good-natured banter behind their words.

"So, for how long do we enjoy your refreshing presence?", Genma smiled, which earned him a hard stare from Asuma. But his words had not the wished effect, for they swept the smile off her face.

"Oh, only till tomorrow or the day after, right?", Iruka chimed in, proud that he knew something, the others didn't know.

"Not quite", Mizuna answered, her expression stony.

"But this afternoon—", Iruka said, although he was cut short by Mizuna.

"At that time I thought I would leave soon", Mizuna said and shot an apologetic look at Iruka. "But that changed shortly after we parted, Iruka-san." Mizuna sighed and she seemed to be a bit pale around her nose. "Since you all will know it at the latest tomorrow, there's no pain in telling you now…", she took in a deep breath. "As of today—"

"Yo."

Mizuna was interrupted by the deep baritone of none other than Kakashi Hatake. He walked leisurely towards their table, the iconic Icha Icha in his hands and the visible eye smiling. Before he sat down, he stopped and looked at Mizuna.

"Oh, you're here", he said in a lazy tone.

"Hello to you too, Hatake-san", Mizuna said in an equally neutral tone, but her lips adorned a sickeningly sweet smile. "It's so good to know, that you don't distinguish between your superiors, colleagues and friends in terms of letting them wait."

"It was never my intention to make you feel special, Terumī-san", Kakashi answered with a grin, as he sat down next to Ebisu.

"No worries, I never aimed for that. In the end, I wouldn't want to overwhelm you with a woman who's made of flesh and blood and not ink on paper", Mizuna shot back, her tone light and the smile still on her face. The others at the table were slightly taken aback by the hostile words, while Asuma simply leaned back and enjoyed the show. He knew by Mizuna's behaviour, that Kakashi must have done something to tick her off.

"She got you there", Genma laughed loudly and all the other chimed in with their laughter. Mizuna simply smiled that dangerously sweet smile of hers.

"Now, what did you want to tell us, before Kakashi came in, Mizu-chan?", Asuma steered the conversation back into less difficult waters. The smile fell from Mizuna's lips, but her face did not return to it's former, more open, expression. Instead she put on a guarded, neutral look.

"As of today, I am to be seen as a diplomat from Kirigakure. I'll be working closely with the Hokage and Mizukage, to help create a diplomatic relation between Kirigakure and Konohagakure", Mizuna explained with a neutral tone in her voice. Her words left the group silent. Although Mizuna didn't say it out loud, they all knew, that there was great responsibility on that position. It was known in all great nations, that the situation in Kirigakure was still nowhere near stable and recreating the relations and channels of trade with other nations was a key factor in stabilising the power of the current Mizukage. If Mizuna failed her mission as a diplomat, it could just as well invoke the failure of the Mizukage and in the worst case, ultimately lead to a civil war within Mizu no Kuni's borders.

Asuma saw the fear in the tight line around her mouth and the worry in the wrinkle between her furrowed eyebrows, but he could also see the determination in her eyes and knew, that she would do everything to ace the mission. He looked up from his adopted sister and into the faces of his friends, where he saw the same conclusions to which he came. It may be a hard burden on the shoulders of such a young adolescent, but if there was one to complete the mission successfully, it would be her.

"Sorry, I really didn't want to dampen the mood", Mizuna said sheepishly with a cute, apologetic smile. "Tell me, Asuma-nii, are you and Kurenai-san now finally official?" Genma snickered at that, Iruka grinned and Kakashi's visible eye squinted in his smirk. Asuma however was saved from an answer, by the rather loud entrance of Maito Gai, who came in crushing onto the stool next to Kakashi.

"My eternal rival!", he exclaimed loudly. "What a display of youthful cleverness to simply leave your challenger, when he didn't expect it, to reunite with our wonderful friends!" He nearly cried, while Kakashi had the most bored look on his face Mizuna had ever seen and all the others either rolled their eyes or sighed at their eccentric friend. Soon after Maito Gai had stopped his tears, Mizuna was introduced to him under many proclamations of her very vibrant and youthful beauty by Maito Gai. Asuma made it known, that he did not appreciate such comments about his adopted sister, but was distracted by Kurenai.

"So…", Genma grinned, while Asuma was successfully in another world, "how about a drinking game?"

"I don't think, that's a good idea", Iruka interjected, with a side glance at Mizuna.

"Come on, Iruka, you can't tell me, that she's too young to drink", Genma argued, "and she's gotta be at least a jōnin to take on the position as diplomat."

"I am old enough and ranked high enough to decide whether or not I like to drink, thank you very much", Mizuna said a bit miffed, before Iruka could say anything.

"So what do you say?", Genma grinned triumphantly.

"You can do whatever you want, I'll drink a bit, but not too much", Mizuna answered with a nonchalant shrug.

"Why? Afraid we make you drunk?", Ebisu wanted to know.

"As if I'd allow that!", Iruka immediately growled.

"No, Ota-san", Mizuna said and simply laid a hand on Iruka's arm to calm him down. "But tomorrow is an important day for me and I don't want to have a hangover."

"Are you nervous about your new position?", Iruka asked with his kind eyes and puppy look.

"I am, but that's not what I meant", Mizuna answered his question and really tried not to be too harsh about it, "but tomorrow's Mito-sama's thirteenth death day and I'm going to do a short, private ceremony." Those words sobered the group immediately. They all looked a bit uncomfortable; except for Asuma, who knew his adopted sister well enough to hear that the pain was old; Kakashi, whose expression was unreadable and Mizuna, who had come to terms with her aunt's death a long time ago.

"Now, what's with this drinking game?", Kakashi asked lightheartedly, once he saw that Mizuna wasn't as affected by it as the others thought her to be. Mizuna had to restrain herself from sending him a grateful look and decided to instead glare at him. Kakashi's visible eye simply squinted in his smile.

"I will challenge my eternal rival to a drinking contest! If I lose, I will do two hundred push-ups!", Maito Gai immediately jumped to the opportunity and from there a very boozy night arose. In the end, Gai collapsed into an alcohol-induced sleep, while he did his one-hundred-ninety-fourth push up.

* * *

 **As always, if you got feedback for me, just leave me a comment.**

* * *

 **Next time in RED:**

"Will I be able to do, what I have to do?", Mizuna suddenly asked, her voice small and barely audible. Her face was unguarded and showed her fear openly. The end of her cigarette flared in bright orange, as she took another pull of poisonous smoke.

"I don't know that", Hiruzen sighed and brought his hat further down into his face, as he thought of an adequate answer. "Our path is not always, what we think it to be. Maybe you succeed in what you plan to do and all will work out in the end. But we do not live in an utopian world and you know that well." His eyes gleamed from underneath the shadows of his hat. Piercing Mizuna with all their wisdom and truth. "Maybe you will fail and have to bear the aftermath. For even if we succeed in our paths, there will always be consequences for all our actions." His voice was grave and Mizuna felt herself falter in her determination, as she heard his words. "I can't tell you, what the future holds. There's just one thing you need to remember. Mito always believed, that if one is filled with enough love, that he can endure everything. I personally like that thought very much." He smiled at Mizuna, who looked at him with large, steel-grey eyes, that shimmered with unshed tears. "So, whichever of the hard paths in front of you, you choose, choose one filled with love and never forget that you are loved." His eyes held deep pain. "Even by those long gone."


	4. Chapter 4 - Mito's Requiem

Hello again,

here I am with yet another chapter. :) I hope you enjoy it!

Thanks for everyone commenting or liking or following!

Read you soon,

Murphy

* * *

 **Chapter 4 - Mito's Requiem**

* * *

Mizuna's hands glided over the smooth fabric of her mofuku*. Although it was many years ago now, that she had lost her great-great-aunt and mentor, the pain was still lingering in every fibre of her heart; dull like the soft throbbing of a half-healed wound, but nonetheless existent every day. Mito's death had left a scar on her soul, that as so many, would never completely heal.

The redhead took a deep breath and slowly, in an almost ritually manner, clothed herself in the black mourning attire. The silken fabric run like water through her hands, as she bound the obi and tightened the clothes around her slender frame. She didn't hear the people on the streets talking or the birds chirping outside her window. All she heard was the soft melody, Mito had always hummed to help her fall asleep. Mizuna's heart grew heavy under the beloved tune, as she absentmindedly started to hum herself.

With another deep breath, Mizuna looked up into the mirror. She had showered that morning and her long, burgundy red hair was already dry. Her hands moved automatically, as she parted her bangs and pinned them back to reveal the lilac, diamond-shaped mark of the Byakugō no In on her forehead, which she otherwise always hid. Automatically, her hands proceeded to pin the rest of her hair up in two, round buns on the side of her head. When Mizuna looked at herself, she felt a chill run through her veins. It was the first time she wore the traditional hairstyle of her kin. She looked so eerily like the pictures of a young Mito Uzumaki she had seen, that Mizuna felt her throat tighten and her breath stocking.

In that moment, Mizuna was not sure if she really could be, who she needed to be. The legacy of her clan and her own expectations at herself seemed to weigh the world.

The people of Konohagakure woke up to a day, they thought they saw a ghost walk through the streets of their village. Many of the older folk looked a second time, just to make sure that they didn't see, what they thought they saw. For in the first moment, they thought their uncrowned queen had returned. But it was not Mito Senju, that walked from the Hokage Tower to the cemetery in black mourning attire. It was this young woman, that looked like her and now walked together with their Hokage, his son and his grandson; all wearing black mofuku attire. And it was then, that the people of Konoha remembered the death date of their beloved leader's wife. Many of them just left whatever they did and followed their Hokage silently. Shinobis, kunoichis, civilians, grandparents, children and young adolescents alike joined the never ending stream to the cemetery to honour their dead queen. They all stood there, silent and deeply touched, while they listened to the young woman perform the ceremony for the thirteenth death day.

The low chants wafted over the cemetery in a language, that wasn't the common tongue or their own Konohan drawl — although it seemed similar — neither did it sound like the Kirigakure dialect. Some of the old folks became pale, as they finally recognised it. It was the dialect, that had been spoken in Uzushiogakure way before it had been destroyed during the Second Shinobi War.

Those chants combined with the foreign, yet strangely familiar, tongue and her slow dance to pay respect to the ancestors and grace them with good will, so they would walk safely over the ever-green grounds of the afterlife, enthralled them deeply. A warmth suddenly spread over them and only those trained in the ninja way, could recognise it as soft tendrils of chakra.

Her voice was loud and clear, her movements graceful, yet clearly those of a warrior and not a dancer, and her whole being seemed to spread something ethereal. Some would later say, that in this moment, the ghost of Mito Senju was truly among them all through that young woman. Others would swear, that she had been an angel send to mourn the death of such a wonderful being.

They all, however, shared the same love that they held in their hearts for their late leader for the rest of the day. And from that day onward, no one was ever seen without a smile on their faces at Mito Senju's death day.

* * *

Kakashi had also been at the ceremony — although lazily lurking somewhere on a roof close by, his posture slouched and seemingly completely harmless — and he, as so many others, had seen the power and beauty, that Mizuna held. The ritual and her voice, her movements and her hairstyle, it all had swept them up and taken them far away to a place long gone, where even Kakashi had felt at ease for once.

He was not sure, if it was intended by Mizuna or not, but her chakra had leaked and it's soft waves had touched the people. It had felt warm and comforting like a mother's hug, but also fierce and protective like a lioness. For one short second, even he had thought about the possibility of Mito Senju being reincarnated as Mizuna, but then he had remembered, that although they shared many characteristics, Mizuna was decidedly her own person. That conclusion, regardless how useless and unnecessary, hadn't harmed the respect, he slowly developed for the young kunoichi ever since meeting her again in the Hokage's office.

He did not remember much about the time she had lived with Mito Senju to be honest. Really just a bratty child, that sometimes clung at Minato's trousers sometimes during their training. But although he had not expected anything at all from her, when she had demanded him to meet for discussing the death of Momochi and Yuki, he still had been surprised by her. He could smell the anger and sadness on her almost all the time, but it never showed in her actions and any other than him or maybe an Inuzuka wouldn't have noticed it at all. For her to be still so young and yet be able to hide her own terrors and demons to such a degree…that was something Kakashi could respect.

He, as probably only very few, had recognised what the ceremony also indicated. It was custom in clans, that those rituals were not held by a priest, but by the head of clan. Thus, Mizuna had claimed herself head of the Uzumaki Clan under the very eyes of the Sandaime Hokage. In conclusion, that meant that she had to be part of the main family and that made her a potentially important player in the game of politics. Kakashi was not sure, whether she really knew, what power she held in her hands and how to use it. He furrowed his brows, as he turned to another page of his Icha Icha novel.

No one knew better than him, that sometimes one had no choice, but to step up and take the role that was asked from one, regardless if one was truly ready for it or not. The bitter taste, that memories usually brought for him, swept over Kakashi's taste buds, but as always, he lingered a moment in the bittersweet pain, before he tried to let it go.

For a second, he asked himself, if Mizuna didn't take on too much for her young age. Being a diplomat wasn't easy, not in the position Kirigakure was in, and adding to that the relatively open declaration of being head of the Uzumaki Clan, could bring one even as disciplined as Mizuna to her limits.

But just as the thought entered his mind, he sighed and dismissed it immediately. Kakashi was not quite sure, why the young woman had invaded his thoughts in such an expansive way and decided, that he wouldn't think more about that matter, as he returned his attention back to the novel in his hands.

It was only a few minutes later, that he broke his own word. He felt her chakra signature near by and couldn't help but wonder, why she would seek out the secluded loneliness of the forest around the training grounds. Unsure what to do, Kakashi shifted his position slightly, his feet still firm on the branch he sat on, but his back now safely against the tree trunk, so that he could see Mizuna approach through the thickness of the underwood. Her hair was let down again, flashing like a beacon in the green and brown of nature, and Kakashi couldn't help but to think, that he liked it better this way. Open as such, it transported her natural scent easier — a rather strange mixture of intense jasmine, charred earth and something that stung in his nose like acid, but yet wasn't unpleasant in general, just…unusual — and Kakashi always liked to smell his surroundings. The omnipresent scent of cold smoke, that seemed to cling to her like a burdock, however, was not very appreciated by his heightened sense.

He was unsure, whether she felt him and ignored him or was so absorbed in her own thoughts, that she didn't notice him. Whatever it was, Kakashi decided to wait and see what would happen, just for her to walk almost directly towards his tree. His one visible eye widened, when he saw, how slumped her whole figure was. Her back wasn't as straight as he was accustomed to and one of her hands repeatedly run over her face, as if she wanted to rub the tiredness away. Not keen on trespassing into her personal space like that, Kakashi let his chakra leak a bit more, just so much, that she would recognise it and notice his presence. For a second, she stopped in her steps, her whole body statuesque in it's stillness. Kakashi unconsciously held his breath. His Icha Icha Paradise still in his hands, but his eye trained on her wiry frame.  
Then, Mizuna simply walked further on. She only adjusted her destination to another tree. Kakashi's eye narrowed in curiosity, while he wondered when he had stopped his breathing.

He had at least expected her to turn around and leave, if not a snarky comment about him reading erotic novels alone in the forest. But she hadn't even looked up to him. Kakashi's mind wandered back, to what he had thought about just a few minutes ago. She seemed to be a bit worn out, as she sat herself down on the grass, a tree supporting her back. Kakashi had to look around the trunk of his tree, to see her, since she had chosen a spot right behind him, just the tree next to his. But she sat there with her back to him, so he couldn't see her expression. When she pulled out a book, that looked frighteningly familiar to Kakashi, he turned back and let himself rest once more against the tree trunk. He leaned his head back and closed his eye.

The sensation of her calmly flowing chakra left him strangely soothed and his lips escaped an inaudible sigh. It was warm, revealing her affinity to fire, as it leisurely wafted against his own crackling lightning chakra, always only almost, but never really touching, because that would be highly inappropriate, but nonetheless … he couldn't help but to feel calmed by the comfort of her smoldering chakra. He felt like a dog in front of a chimney fire; comfy and content.

A lazy smile spread across his covered face and he shook his head. He could practically reek the exhaustion from the day in her scent, probably also the reason, why she had sought out the seclusion of the forest, regardless of his own presence, which she usually seemed to not particularly enjoy — and yet, there she sat and read Icha Icha Violence.

* * *

"Mito would be proud of you, child."

The weathered voice of Hiruzen Sarutobi flowed through the silence on top of the Hokage Tower. Mizuna turned her eyes away from the village and looked at the man she came to think of as a grandfather. He had his pipe in his mouth, the Hokage hat on his head and his eyes slightly guarded by shadow, but his lips showed a soft smile, which highlighted the wrinkles on his face.

"You think, Hiruzen-sensei?", Mizuna asked in a low voice, that seemed almost timid. Her hands fumbled uncharacteristically clumsily with the pack of her cigarettes, before she lit one and inhaled deeply to soothe her nerves.

"I know", he answered and puffed out some smoke. "You will make a good head of clan. Your heart is meant for bigger things than simply following a given way. I felt it the first time I saw you…standing there, barely more than a toddler and glaring at me for insulting a woman, who you had never seen before, but knew to be family." His smile was gentle and yet, there was something foreboding in his voice, that let Mizuna stiffen at his words. She tipped the ash off of her cigarette and took another pull.

"I would have given Naruto to her, but she was too ill. You see that now, right?", he asked and for a second Mizuna felt as if he was scared of her answer.

"Yes", Mizuna sighed heavily at the memories, "I understood a long time ago, that you simply wanted to keep her safe… and were trying to keep Naruto safe." She took another pull from her cigarette. "He would have been shunned even more by the villagers, had he lived in the Hokage Tower…or left the village completely." Mizuna's answer had been completely honest, which caused a small, relieved huff to escape Hiruzen's mouth in between two puffs of smoke. In that small gesture, Mizuna suddenly realised, that regardless how wise Hiruzen Sarutobi was, he would always carry the weight of his decisions as the Hokage. It dawned to her, that taking on a position of power and responsibility, would always also come with great sacrifices. But she couldn't yet grasp the whole picture, she did not yet understand, what it really meant to lead and not follow.

"You truly grew so much, since the last time we spoke", he shook his head. "But maybe it's just us old folks to think, the young ones grow up too fast." He stared into the sky and for a moment, they both just stood there and soaked in the beauty of the dying day.

"Will I be able to do, what I have to do?", Mizuna suddenly asked, her voice small and barely audible. Her face was for once unguarded and showed her fear openly. The end of her cigarette flared in bright orange, as she took yet another pull of poisonous smoke.

"I don't know that", Hiruzen sighed and brought his hat further down into his face, as he thought of an adequate answer. "Our path is not always what we think it to be. Maybe you succeed in what you plan to do and all will work out in the end. But we do not live in an utopian world and you know that well." His eyes gleamed from underneath the shadows of his hat. Piercing Mizuna with all their wisdom and truth. "Maybe you will fail and have to bear the aftermath. For even if we succeed in our paths, there will always be consequences for all our actions." His voice was grave and Mizuna felt herself falter in her determination, as she heard his words. "I can't tell you, what the future holds. There's just one thing you need to remember. Mito always believed, that if one is filled with enough love, that he can endure everything. I personally like that thought very much." He smiled at Mizuna, who looked at him with large eyes, that shimmered with unshed tears. "So, whichever of the hard paths in front of you, you choose, choose the one filled with love and never forget that you are loved." His eyes held deep pain. "Even by those long gone."

Mizuna closed her eyes in order to keep her composure, but by doing that, a few tears couldn't be contained any longer and fell. At his words, she could feel them all look at her. Everyone she had lost seemed to stand behind her at that moment and Mizuna wasn't sure whether her tears were due to sorrow or happiness. Sometimes those two emotions just did go hand in hand.

"Thank you, Hiruzen-sensei", she murmured, her voice hoarse from the tightness in her throat. "I don't think, I ever thanked you enough, for what you did. You welcomed me into your village and your family without hesitation. You helped oba-sama guide me all those years ago and now your words are more worth than anything."

"There is nothing to thank me for, child", Hiruzen said with a small, proud smile. The silence that followed, was filled with mutual respect and sweet comfort. Only the chattering from the villagers to their feet was heard and the wind softly playing with their clothes and hair all that was felt. The sun sunk lower and painted the sky in a dark red, just like Mizuna's hair. It was then and there, that Mizuna found hope and strength and Hiruzen felt as if it wasn't all for nothing, what he fought for.

* * *

The next day, Mizuna found herself in search for Konohamaru. Hiruzen had asked her to teach him some tricks and lighten his spirits with training, for according to the Hokage, his grandson lacked female discipline once in a while and Mizuna was happy to help where she could — especially when it came to her sweet adopted nephew.

But her attention was soon diverted from her search, as a familiar chakra signature approached the village. She shunshined towards the gate, but stopped for a second, as she saw Team 7 standing in one of the streets she passed. Her steps halted on top of a roof, her chakra concealed and her figure crouched down. Although she was sure, that Kakashi knew, she was there — was it by sensing or smelling her, she didn't dare to guess. His genin, however, were too much occupied with insulting each other to notice her. Not that they would have been able, even if they tried.

Mizuna's jaw ticked. She heard the boys bicker and her mouth morphed into a thin line, as she heard the Uchiha brat and Naruto almost growl at each other. Kakashi just stood by and read his porn, something Mizuna couldn't understand. There was absolutely no camaraderie among them. She had seen friendly bickering between genin, as she had once in a while covered for injured team leaders. Whatever was going on between Naruto and the Uchiha, it was not friendly. And yet, Kakashi did nothing. Mizuna's blood boiled in suppressed anger. Only when a bird flew by, likely send by the Hokage to summon Kakashi, did he react.

"Okay, that's it for today", he said, his eye still on the novel and not on his students. "I have to go submit this mission report…" He had barely finished his sentence, when the Uchiha boy already turned on his heals and walked away.

Kakashi chose to vanish only moments later, disregarding what his genin did to each other, and Mizuna had to flex her hands to restrain herself from following him. She would have given him a piece of her mind, because letting those teenagers tear each other apart and rip themselves from any true companionship, was just irresponsible and foolish. Mizuna could almost graphically see, how that bit of respect he had gained in the last weeks, dropped again to an all-time low.

The anger still boiling in her veins, Mizuna decided to let herself cool down. She vanished with a soft breeze. Just to shunshin right next to Kotetsu, who examined the IDs of her fellow Kiri-nin. He jumped a bit in surprise at her sudden appearance, but otherwise tried to play it cool.

"Ah, Terumī-san", he greeted in tandem with his friend Izumo, "here to greet your friends?" Just as he finished, Mizuna's eyes wandered towards the group of four Kiri-nin in front of her. They instantly squared their shoulders and bowed their heads.

"Terumī-san", the eldest of the group said, her voice filled with respect. "It is an honour to see you again." Kotetsu's jaw dropped at the display of such submission, while Izumo simply blinked rather rapidly.

"It has been a long time, Furutani-san", Mizuna replied with a grin on her face. "I hope you have trained your team well, the competition will be outstandingly." Her eyes dropped to the three boys next to their sensei. All wore the hitai-ate of their village with pride, as they stood in attention in front of their superior.

"They are ready, Terumī-san", Furutani said with confidence, what only brightened Mizuna's smile. Her eyes however remained a stony grey.

"I trust your judgement", she just said simply and they all could see Furutani swell with pride at the words of Mizuna.

"Just what rank are you, Terumī-san?", Kotetsu couldn't help but burst out, his eyes large like saucers.

"Me?", Mizuna asked, her head tilted to the side, a sweetly smile on her face, but her cold eyes staring intensely at him. "Well, higher than chūnin obviously." With a promise to meet her fellow ninjas later, Mizuna walked away with a wave and a smile after that to search for Konohamaru and train a bit with him. It did cross Izumo's mind for a second, how eerily similar her behaviour just now had been to that usually displayed by a certain silver-haired superior of him.

* * *

Mizuna wondered how in Hashirama's name, she had ended up in a situation like this. Her brows furrowed, as she pursed her lips and looked at the four kids in front of her. Somehow — and she really had to analyse how in order to evade such a situation again — she had ended up with agreeing to not only train Konohamaru for a bit, but also his two friends and Naruto. If she wasn't so shocked by it, Mizuna probably would have been amazed at how they had puppy-eyed her into helping them all.

"Alright", she sighed and resisted the urge to look towards heaven to ask Mito for assistance. The redhead had brought the four kids to the private training ground near the Hokage Tower, since she wasn't able to book an official training field as a foreign kunoichi.

"First, let's get your heart rate up and warm up your muscles", Mizuna said and gestured towards the round layout of the trainings field, "each of you runs ten laps." The kids didn't move, but stared at her in defiance. Naruto even had his arms crossed over his chest.

"That's child's play", he groused with a pout, his large blue eyes directed towards Mizuna. "I want to learn great jutsus!" Konohamaru chimed in into Naruto's whining, as well as his two friends Moegi and Udon. Mizuna had to take a deep breath. She hated teaching kids, her lack in patience had always been a hindrance to that. She dreaded the day her Mizukage would decide to pull her out of active duty and assign a team of genin to her. Gladly, that day was far into the future…if it ever happened at all.

"How do you expect to learn any jutsu, if your body can't take the strain?", she asked, her voice all but ice-cold. "You kids are soft as a sponge. My little finger would be enough to put you down." Naruto's eyes narrowed at that and he opened his mouth, but Mizuna was faster. "You need to steel your body in order to be able to survive the strain of being a ninja. If your muscles aren't developed enough and you use chakra, it could permanently damage your soft tissue. You wouldn't be able to be a ninja anymore within three years. Do you want that?" Her eyes bored into every single one of her forced students. Moegi slowly shook her head, hastily followed by the eager shaking of Konohamaru's, Udon's and Naruto's head.

"Then run the damn laps or I make you get a move on", Mizuna ordered coldly. The four kids immediately started to run. Mizuna sighed. She was not cut out to be a teacher of disobedient students. Not at all.

She sat down with crossed legs in the centre of the training field, as she observed the kids. It didn't surprise her, that Naruto had almost overtook the three others. He was an Uzumaki after all and they had great stamina. Plus there was that little thing about the bijū sealed inside of him.

"Naruto, twenty laps for you!", she shouted and the boy with the blond hair almost stumbled.

"WHAT?!", he yelled back, but didn't stop running. "BUT THE OTHERS—"

"Are still not even genin", Mizuna interrupted coldly, which shut Naruto up. He set his face in a frown, but ran like hell. The redhead shook her head slowly. Why was it always a fight with Naruto?

She inhaled deeply and pulled a bottle of water out of her pouch. Only because she had mysteriously — she still didn't know how! — three more kids she taught today, didn't mean, that she herself couldn't also get a bit of training in. She tenderly laid her hands on the soil and closed her eyes. The natural Earth chakra pulsed slowly but steadily underneath her fingertips. She tried to feel, tried to find a connection to it, like her aunt had taught her hastily in between meetings. Once Mizuna felt as if she was connected to the solid chakra, she tried to pull the Earth chakra into her body. It tasted like she ate dirt and Mizuna had to suppress a small wince at that. Then she slowly brought her hands up, trying to hold the connection.

Tiger. Hare. Bore. Dog.

Her hands formed the signs slower, than she was used to, as she really tried to seep the chakra in, that had the connection to the Earth. Then she brought her hands down and in front of her, a small — honestly a rather tiny — wall shot up from the soil.

A small, satisfied smile shortly ghosted over Mizuna's features. Then suddenly she felt the earth connection in her chakra evade her grip. The small wall crumbled to bits, as her fire nature infiltrated it. The redhead growled in frustration. A short, hot pang of embarrassment shot through her. For heaven's sake, she was a kunoichi of the Terumī clan and couldn't control Doton, which she desperately needed for Yōton.

How pathetic.

Mizuna looked up, as she heard the huffs and puffs of the kids closer to her. Talking about pathetic …

"Try to do that more often", she simply said, with a short glance at the hunched over figures of Moegi and Udon. Konohamaru had a bright red face and a few sweat drops on his forehead. Naruto on the other hand seemed to have barely worked up a sweat.

"Drink something", Mizuna instructed, as she handed Konohamaru the remainders of the water in her bottle. "Then we're starting with basic stances and go through some katas." The four kids whined, but only lowly and not openly. Mizuna let it slide. Her eyes glanced down at the crumbled earth wall before her. She herself had still a long way to go …

"Oba-chan", Konohamaru whined, "aren't we going to do target practice today?"

"You still lack stamina and muscles, Maru-kun, while your weapon handling is okay", Mizuna sighed, her voice still in a hard tone. "You can't only train, what you're good at. You need to train your weaknesses — especially your weaknesses." Her grey orbs found the warm, brown ones of her little adopted nephew. He mumbled something under his breath. Mizuna sighed again.

"I'll make ramen, if you honestly make an effort", she gave in and immediately Konohamaru's face light up. Out of the corner of her eyes, Mizuna saw Naruto suddenly loosing a bit of his straight composure, his shoulders slightly hunched and his blue eyes sad. A familiar pain clenched Mizuna's heart at that sight. Her own family situation had always been … complicated, to say the least.

"If you're all making an effort and listen to me without back talk, I'll invite you all to home-made ramen", she said softly and it warmed her heart a bit, as she saw the sadness fade in those blue orbs so similar to the ones, she once knew. Her throat tightened and a sad smile tugged at her lips, as she saw Naruto shout in motivation, thrilling the three younger kids into also looking forward to a hard training session.

Suddenly the thought of Kakashi Hatake entered her mind. Her eyes widened just a fraction. She realised in that moment, how cruel it had to be for the jōnin to teach the son of his late sensei of all people. Naruto looked so much like Minato and had so many traits of Kushina's character, it was hard even for _her_ to acknowledge him sometimes. She didn't dare to imagine, how it had to be for _him_. As she looked down, a bit ashamed, that she hadn't realised it sooner, she had to begrudgingly respect Kakashi for even _trying_ to teach this team. She wondered, how the Hokage could be so cruel to his own shinobi. But then again, she didn't even know snippets of the whole story.

"Okay, let's start with a basic stance", Mizuna said, pulling herself forcefully from her dark thoughts. As she saw the kids getting in position in front of her, she doubted, that she would find any joy in that day. Whatever they did … it was not even close to a balanced stance. The only thing she was looking forward to in that moment was the dinner, they would all have together at her flat afterwards.

She had been lucky enough to learn in her earliest childhood, what family meant, although there wasn't a lot of family left for her anymore. Her eyes wandered over Konohamaru, who had lost his parents before he had even been able to count to ten. Then to Naruto, who had a similar fate, even worse, considering his parents had died the day he was born and what price the boy had payed himself for surviving.

Mizuna knew, that Asuma and Hiruzen tried their hardest to give Konohamaru the feeling of a caring family, but who did that for Naruto? The redhead's heart became heavy. She would show those lost souls what family was, even if it was only for one evening. A deep sigh escaped her lips. Before that could happen though, there was a lot of work to do. Her eyes again wandered over what the kids assumed were good basic stances. With a quick prayer at her late mentor, who had had angelic patience with herself, she braced her mind for a very long afternoon …

* * *

 **Next time in RED:**

The first trial of the Chuunin Exams is held and watched curiously by some of our beloved characters...although they are more interested in the outcome of Mizuna and Kakashi butting heads publicly.

We explore Mizuna's past a tiny bit and then there's the fact of Orochimaru messing with the exams in general...


	5. Chapter 5 - Chūnin Exams: First Trial

Hello guys,

it's been a while, sorry. There was that nuisance called exam phase, that put a stop on anything different than studying...

But here I am again with another chapter! In this one the first trial of the Chūnin Exams are held, watched curiously by some of our beloved character...although they are more interested in the outcome of Kakashi and Mizuna butting heads publicly. We also explore Mizuna's past a tiny bit and then there's the fact of Orochimaru messing with the exams in general...

I hope you enjoy it!

Thanks for every Fav or Follow, it is very appreciated!

xo,

Murphy

* * *

 **Chapter 5 - Chūnin Exams: First Trial**

* * *

The morning the Chūnin Exams started, brought a funny sight with it. All jōnin teachers, including those of other nations and other curious ninjas, like Mizuna and some chūnin on a free day, stood on the roof opposite of the school building, where the first test would take place. Mizuna had her place next to Furutani and Asuma, with Kurenai, Kakashi, Maito Gai and Ebisu also being part of their little group. Furutani had been introduced as a fellow kunoichi of Mizuna beforehand and was merrily greeted by the Leaf ninjas.  
"You sure have a lot of rivalry in your team, Kakashi-san", Asuma pointed out, as they watched Naruto almost growl at Sasuke's display of superiority in front of the second floor classroom.  
"Mhm", was all the silver-haired jōnin said, his eye fixed on the porn in his hands. Mizuna pressed her lips together in annoyance. Although she had come to respect the famous Copy-Nin to a certain — very low, mind you — point, she was still subliminally disinclined to his character as a whole. She just didn't get him.  
Was he rude or had he just a twisted sense of humour? Was he late for a reason or just to annoy everybody? Did he not care about his genin or had he just a very strange way to show it? So many contradicting, overlapping, strange behaviour facets. She just _didn't get him_.  
Her battle-worn instincts — or to be honest, it was rather a case of severe paranoia — constantly screamed at her to assess any possible actions of her environment and she just could not assess him, leaving her in a constant state of alert around him. And that irked her to no end.

"It surprises me, that your team has such problems, since teamwork is the one thing you value above all else", Kurenai joint the conversation and due to the accusation in her voice, Kakashi could no longer ignore them. He looked up from his novel, to see everyone of their small gathering look at him. His eye squinted in his invisible smile and he tilted his head slightly to the side.  
"It's just friendly rivalry to this point", he answered nonchalantly, "if push comes to shove, they have each other's back." There was nothing but confidence in his eye, but Mizuna couldn't suppress a disbelieving huff.  
"You got something to say, Terumī-san?", Kakashi asked, his smiling eye on her. He was very obviously amused by her and for a second, Mizuna asked herself, if she truly wanted to pick a quarrel with _him_ of all. But she just could not shake the responsibility she felt for Naruto.

"Oh, plenty", Mizuna then said stiffly, her eyes openly glaring, "but only few things appropriate enough to say out loud in public." The air around their group was suddenly thick with tension. People usually refrained from picking a fight with Kakashi, due to him being … well, _Kakashi Hatake_ , but Mizuna run in head first. Asuma sighed. There was no possibility of her denying her Uzumaki temper.  
And if Kakashi hadn't been so hurt by the similarity of her glare to that Kushina had given him and Minato so painfully often, he might not have let himself get carried away into a verbal battle, that would only hurt them both.  
"Just humour me", Kakashi replied therefore thoughtlessly and there was a silent challenge in his words, that Mizuna just couldn't resist. Although she knew all too well, that Kakashi had counted on that. He was playing with her. Mocking her in a way, that challenged her on a deeper level, than just discussing teaching methods. The redhead narrowed her eyes slightly.

"The rivalry you speak of, may now be friendly and benefiting", Mizuna spoke in a polite, almost neutral tone, while she decidedly stared into Kakashi's uncovered eye, "but these are very competitive boys. I have trained kids like them. I have seen comrades turning against each other." There was a weariness in her tone, that made Kakashi narrow his eyes for a second. "Once there is more at stake, than who is faster for the sake of it, such rivalry can turn sour. I don't think, they have acknowledged each other as _friendly_ rivals, who could grow due to each other." Her grey eyes only steeled themselves more, as her anger seeped into them more and more with every word. "At the moment, they're apparently seeing each other as rivals, maybe even hindrances. Not to forget, that you completely neglect the psychological damage that is dealt to your female student by the Uchiha kid." Kakashi seemed to take a breath to answer her, but Mizuna held up a hand to stop him. He rose his visible brow at that, but let her speak.  
"Yes, yes. I know how stupid she is and I will not defend any silly crush she has", Mizuna continued, still smoldering in her anger. "But if you will not address the problem appropriately, that girl will always have trouble with her self confidence. And we all know, that soldiers with confidence issues could become a security problem once they are offered power from another source."  
Heavy silence followed her words. Kakashi and Mizuna still stared intently at each other and Mizuna could have sworn, that his eye had widened just a fraction, once she had mentioned Sakura.

"I appreciate your input, Terumī-san", he answered after a while, his tone still unnervingly bored, "and there are probably a few things you pointed out, that need my attention." Asuma lifted his eyebrows in mild interest. Kakashi was not one to easily admit mistakes. He did, when he knew he really was at fault, but usually Kakashi just didn't make any mistakes. It was as easy as that.  
"But", Kakashi's tone lost a bit of his laziness and he narrowed his eye slightly, " _I_ am their teacher and it is my judgement that counts, _me_ who knows them best, because I have spent many hours with them over the past six months. What claim do you have on them, _Terumī_ -san?"  
The harshness of his own words sobered Kakashi up rather abruptly. He realised suddenly, that picking a fight with her, because she so unexpectedly and terrifyingly reminded him of Kushina, was … embarrassingly immature … if he was honest with himself. In that moment, Kakashi felt like the old dog, that had been carried away to bark, because a pup wouldn't stop yapping at him.  
It had been a long time, since he last had been carried away and somewhere in the depth of his troubled mind, he wondered about that.

There was no reaction to his low blow from Mizuna other than a slight twitch in her left eye. Due to his emphasis on her name, Mizuna guessed, that he knew _exactly_ what claim she had on Naruto Uzumaki, but they both knew, that she couldn't admit it so publicly with all those other nations around.  
Mizuna gritted her teeth in frustration, but had to admit grudgingly, that he had a point. She had not expected him to become so possessive. But then again, his possessiveness showed just how much he cared about his team. Some might have mistaken his words for rooted in his own ego and strive to prove himself best of all, but Mizuna had seen the honesty in his eye, that he had allowed her to see. This man truly cared — in his own twisted way, but nonetheless cared — and that was something, that Mizuna could respect. She had also discovered a layer of his personality; he had gotten more predictable through showing that he cared deeply, and that pleased her paranoia greatly, although it had come with the cost of humiliation. Her muscles relaxed a bit, as her deep-rooted fears were satisfied by this new discovery.

"Excuse me, if I have spoken too freely", she said in stiff politeness, for even if Kakashi could easily admit the few mistakes he made. Mizuna still had to learn how to take her own faults in stride. "But you know as well as I, that should those boys not have been so unfortunate as having nothing but their name to back them and should there actually be head of clans for the Uzumaki or Uchiha, that they would not tolerate such teaching methods easily. Same goes for the civilian girl. Had she come from a ninja clan, they wouldn't have allowed her to be actively or passively brought into a situation, where she suffers emotionally from her teammates." Her eyes were hard, as they bore into Kakashi's almost black one; her spine straight and her shoulders squared. Then she abruptly turned away.

Kakashi observed her attentively, as she declared the conversation ended by returning her attention back to the happenings in the school building — effectively ignoring all around her. Her whole, regal demeanour, that had accompanied her last words, had screamed for submission from him. Right now, she was nothing more but a kitten learning how to catch a prey and testing out her muscles. More amusing than really dangerous, although he would not underestimate someone willing to fight even superiors in order to keep loved ones safe. And it was obvious to Kakashi now, that she held great compassion for Naruto solely because he was of her blood.  
The jōnin narrowed his eye slightly in worry as he thought of the day Mizuna would discover just how to handle her power perfectly — that would be a rather disturbing day for everyone threatening her or anyone she considered pack. Kakashi furrowed his eyebrows and his mouth morphed into an unseen, thin line. Her willingness to fight ferociously, although possessing such a compassionate heart, eerily reminded him of a young prodigy he once had in his ANBU team and Kakashi couldn't help but to feel the need to exercise caution in the presence of yet another one with such characteristics.

"Aren't those your boys fighting, Kakashi-san, Gai-san?", Asuma suddenly drawled with slight worry in his tone and pointed towards a front of windows. One look was enough for all of them to see a boy clad in the same outrageous clothes as Maito Gai and Sasuke Uchiha fight. Maito Gai immediately jumped off the roof and went after his mini-me.  
Kakashi just read his Icha Icha.  
Mizuna stared incredulously at him, but did not open her mouth. Not after the hidden lecturing she had gotten from him just now. But Kurenai saw the slight flexing of the muscles around her mouth, as Mizuna suppressed the open display of her discontent.  
"Okay, what did Kakashi-san do, to piss you off so much, Mizuna-san?", she asked, her beautiful red eyes wide in curiosity. Mizuna looked from her to Ebisu and Asuma, who were equally interested and then to Kakashi, who just then vanished into thin air and Furutani, who smiled knowingly.  
"He called me a brat in front of the Hokage, right after he had us waiting for half an hour", Mizuna answered a bit miffed.  
"What? That's all?!", Ebisu asked and looked as if he hadn't heard the right thing. Mizuna threw him a nasty look, which shut him up rather effectively.  
"That surely is…resentful", Kurenai murmured, a hand at her lips and an uncertain sheen in her eyes, somewhere between understanding and horror. That again, horrified Asuma deeply. He didn't want his sweet Kurenai to adapt any habits regarding men from Mizuna at all.  
"Terumī-san has nothing on her aunt", Furutani unexpectedly chimed in with a wide smile on her soft features. "You wanna see a woman hold a grudge against men, you gotta meet our Mizukage." There was even pride in the Kiri-nin's voice and the men of Konohagakure silently agreed, that women of the Hidden Mist were somewhat creepy.

Kakashi meanwhile stood in front of room 301, waiting for his team. His mind still lingered on what Mizuna had said and he could not avoid but to admit, that she was sort of right — at least regarding Sakura. He did try to boost her confidence and let her make her own decisions without the pressure of her teammates, but he truly did put more focus on Naruto and Sasuke in general. Kakashi sighed, as he admitted this to himself. He just wasn't cut out to be a teacher. A sigh escaped his masked lips again. Leading a pack had never been a problem for him, his ninken and successes as an ANBU captain being the perfect examples for that. But those kids …  
His musings were interrupted, when the subjects of his thoughts arrived.  
"Oh…so Sakura came too…", he drawled lazily, just because he had the urge to address her personally right now. "Now, we can properly take the exam."  
"What do you mean?", the pink haired girl wanted to know, her eyes wide in confusion, but her demeanour suspicious.  
"The truth is, that this test can only be taken in teams of three", Kakashi began to explain and took slight pleasure in the horrified faces of his students. He at least could enjoy the small entertainments these horrible kids brought him once in a while. That wasn't so wrong, was it…?  
"Huh? But you said taking the test was an individual choice. You lied to us?", Sakura demanded to know, while Naruto's temper already flared dangerously and Sasuke had an expression so stony, Mizuna would be jealous of.  
"If I told the truth, Naruto or Sasuke would have pressured you to take the exam", Kakashi outlined his train of thought, his one eye resting on Sakura. "Even if you didn't want to, if Sasuke asked you…you would, even though it wasn't in your heart. For the sake of Sasuke…and well…Naruto too…"  
"So…if only Sasuke-kun or Naruto-kun would have shown up…?", Sakura let her question hang in the air.  
"The exam would have ended here, they would not get to go any further", Kakashi answered nonetheless. "But you came of your own will. You guys are my proud team." Kakashi smiled at them, really showing his honest pride for those three teenagers. "Now go!"  
They smiled brightly back at him, even Sasuke, and that made his bruised heart heal a bit. He knew exactly, why the Hokage had forcefully pulled him out of ANBU and had assigned this team to him. It was cruel, yes, but maybe … just maybe it could heal more than one broken soul.  
"Yeah!", Naruto yelled and walked towards the door to room 301. "Let's go!" It was him, who lead Team 7 into their Chūnin Exams and truth be told, Kakashi couldn't have been any more proud of them. All of them.  
He leaned against the wall next to the door and waited. The sheer amount of other, seemingly stronger genin would really shock his team. Kakashi knew, that he might have said to the others, that his students were ready, but he wasn't completely sure. They were fearless, yes, but could they really be fearless enough to handle all those elite genin from all over the continent?  
"MY NAME IS NARUTO UZUMAKI! I WON'T LOSE TO YOU BASTARDS! YOU GOT THAT?!"  
Kakashi sweat dropped with a soft smile. His team truly consisted of idiots…but they were _his_ idiots.

* * *

Mizuna watched as the instructors assembled themselves outside the school building. She smirked at her imagination of the genin's faces, when _those_ instructors appeared just amongst them. Then she sighed and turned to Furutani.  
"That's that", she said and smiled politely at her fellow kunoichi. "May I treat you to a bowl of ramen?" Mizuna asked more out of plain politeness, than true affection for the older kunoichi. Apparently it was somehow expected of one to not be completely unsociable, when related to the Mizukage. Mizuna loathed that. She much preferred to be alone; or rather to be with the few people she held close to her heart.  
But when Furutani blushed slightly and hid her face behind a curtain of her shoulder-long brown hair due to the honour of being treated to lunch by the niece of their Mizukage, Mizuna couldn't help but to feel a bit proud about how loved her aunt was; mixed with a general discomfort, that always came for her when interacting with people.  
It had all the same root. Treating Furutani, accepting Iruka's invite to an evening with his friends, not hiding from everyone like the whole first month she had been in Konohagakure — all that was rooted in the understanding Mizuna had in what was _expected_ of someone like her. She did not particularly enjoy socialising with people outside her small, tight-nit circle; but Mizuna would never let her inopportune behaviour reflect on how her aunt was perceived from her subordinates. Everything she did, was directly connected to the Mizukage. Regardless where she was and how she herself felt about it.

"It would be an honour, Terumī-san", Furutani answered and with that, they both vanished. Mizuna led Furutani further into the village, to where the food stalls were beaded side by side. She stopped in front of one specific, that had brought her much joy in the last weeks and had the added bonus of very tasty ramen.  
"This is Ichiraku's", Mizuna smiled, before she entered, "Teuchi-san makes the best ramen and probably knows all the ninja secrets." Mizuna had spent most of her free time during her stay in Konohagakure at exactly three places; at the training grounds, in the TonTon and at Ichiraku's. So when she entered the shop, Teuchi greeted her with a smile.  
"Ah, hello Terumī-san", he said, while stirring the broth, "good to see you."  
"Hello, Teuchi-san", Mizuna answered and sat at the counter. "This is Furutani, also a kunoichi from Kirigakure and here with her team for the exams." Mizuna pointed at Furutani, who took her place next to her superior.  
"Just Furutani?", Teuchi asked with lifted eyebrows.  
"Ah", Mizuna nodded, "she doesn't like her first name." Furutani just nodded, slightly surprised at the hospitality shown to Mizuna. Back in Kirigakure, they all whispered on the quiet, how dangerous the decision of the Mizukage was, to station Mizuna of all people in Konohagakure. Such a precious person to the village so openly in enemy's territory, had most of them doubt the decision of their Mizukage. But now, that Furutani had seen her interact with the locals, she knew that their Mizukage was a wise woman.  
"Well then, Furutani-san it is", Teuchi grinned. "What can I get you two? The usual, Terumī-san?"  
"Yes, just a regular ramen, please", Mizuna ordered as always. She was not that experimental, when it came to food to be honest. She usually preferred the plain taste of easier dishes over more fancy ones. Probably a remainder of her upbringing and early teenager days.  
"For me a ramen with chicken, please", Furutani added with a smile.  
"Coming right away", Teuchi said and started to work on their orders.

"So, the first examination basically tests the ability to gather information stealthily?", Furutani asked her superior. There hadn't been a lot of information about the exams prior, as to not give the team leaders time to prepare their genin specially for the designed tests.  
"Yes", Mizuna answered and rested her chin on her folded hands. "This should be no problem for your team, right?" Her eyes bored into Furutani's, who held her gaze for a few seconds, before looking back down at her bowl, but her features were light and pleased.  
"Not, if they don't panic", the older kunoichi replied with a smile. "They are familiar with each others movements and should be able to cheat their way through the test with no problem. Plus, with Shiro-kun's hiden, he should be able to link their minds." Mizuna nodded satisfied. She knew, that their genin were well-trained, but she just couldn't help but to always have some resentments against exams in general. The feeling of something warm and sticky on her skin brought the sick urge to scratch at her arms. Mizuna needed a lot of her willpower to leave her hands, where they were. The feeling however remained, as well as the urge and the constant fight against it.

"It sounds almost too easy", Furutani added wistfully. Mizuna's sharp gaze snapped towards her and impaled her with it's cold colour of steel. The redhead's veins ran cold and searing hot only a second later.  
"You think?", Mizuna asked, her voice as hard as her stare. "Better this, than what we had to do."  
"Of course", Furutani said immediately and lowered her head. Mizuna knew, that Furutani did not understand. She was from one of the highest ranking families and therefore graduated and travelled up ranks with less problems than others. Mizuna, originating from a frowned upon mixture of blood and therefore being ranked in the lowest caste, plus having a…let's say interesting history of her own, had had none of that comfort. The rules for those of the highest and lowest caste had been different as night and day, even in the rules of becoming a ninja.

Kirigakure had never been a distinctly friendly place. It was built on strict rules. Those originating from families of the founding time, were considered to be the highest caste. Furutani originated from one of the smaller ninja clans of that time and therefore had had a fairly easy life — for Kiri standards, that is. Most of those people of the highest caste were however merchant families with large networks. They had grown lazy over the decades and saw their power and influence as kami-given. Quite frankly, they were a pain in the ass.  
The second caste consisted of those originating from families, that were allies to Kirigakure in early times of war. They had gained the respect of the founders, by paying with their blood to defend a village, that just barely acknowledged them.  
Lastly, the third caste: Defeated families of early times, originating from annexed regions; immigrants from other countries and kekkei genkei users. The Terumī clan, although very powerful, had almost been eradicated due to their kekkei genkei. They were send onto suicide missions or used as canon fodder, until only Mei and her elder sister Natsue — who had been Mizuna's mother — remained of the once not large, but healthy clan. That and some other factors involved, hadn't made for the best of experiences outside of her family and some close friends for Mizuna.  
The Village Hidden in the Mist still struggled up to this day for more equality. But with a kekkei genkei user as their Mizukage, the stiff hierarchy had loosened up significantly already. Much to the dismay of the larger merchant families.

It was the graduation and promotion exams though, that had Mizuna twitch in discomfort and see ghosts, where there were none. There was a reason, they were called Village of the Bloody Mist once …

"I am sorry, Terumī-san", Furutani said, truly crestfallen at reminding the other kunoichi of such disastrous history. Thankfully, that also pulled Mizuna out of her dangerously dark thoughts.  
"It's not your fault, Furutani-san", Mizuna sighed and thanked Teuchi silently for his timing, as he interrupted their conversation. He put down their bowls in front of them with a sad smile and once more, Mizuna questioned herself how much that man truly knew.  
"And the second test?", Furutani asked, while she enjoyed the warm broth and soft noodles, and probably to steer the conversation to more comfortable waters.  
"The kunoichi in charge is named Anko Mitarashi. I'm not sure about her rank, but would guess her to be either a high ranking chūnin or a specialised jōnin", Mizuna explained what little information she had. "Apparently she's a bit crazy. She titled the second test 'The Forest of Death', so I'm not quite sure, what to expect. But I think you and the other team leaders will be shortly briefed about it."  
"That doesn't sound too pleasant", Furutani murmured into her ramen, which Mizuna ignored in order to not embarrass Furutani with her short episode of doubt in her genin. For some time, they both ate in comfortable silence and Mizuna was glad about that. Talking to other people was always so exhausting and more often than not brought up unpleasant memories.  
Only a few minutes after they had both finished their second helping, a bird flew in with a scroll and sat down next to Furutani.  
"Huh?", Mizuna blinked and tilted her head slightly. "That was fast."  
"Is this the way Konohagakure summons their ninjas?", Furutani asked curiously and inspected the bird without touching it, but delicately taking the scroll from the animal.  
"Yes", Mizuna confirmed with a nod, while Furutani read the scroll. "You know where the Hokage Tower is?"  
"I do now", Furutani answered and held up the opened scroll, "Thank you for the treat, Terumī-san." Furutani bowed as soon as she stood from her stool and with that she left the redhead.  
Mizuna simply put down some money for Teuchi and left the shop, too. She was curious about the exam herself and decided in that moment, that spying on the beginning of the exam should be okay, if she concealed herself properly. Her smirk was the last thing that was seen of her, before not even her chakra was detectable, less alone her body, as she cast the only genjutsu she truly had mastered over herself.

* * *

Mizuna had made it just in time to the place where the second exam started, to see Anko throw a kunai at Naruto. She immediately narrowed her eyes, as the female instructor appeared behind Naruto and licked the blood off of his cheek. Mizuna shuddered at this display. There was something deeply twisted in that woman.  
Suddenly another shinobi, obviously a genin from the grass, stepped behind Anko and handed her the kunai she had thrown with … his tongue. Mizuna furrowed her brows, as she tried to sense the guy's chakra better. Her mouth pressed into a thin line and her eyes narrowed further, when she felt that the chakra of the genin was slightly … off. It was just a small irregularity in it's flow, not easily detected.  
Mizuna's eyes never left the genin, even as Anko resumed her duties and explained the second test. His chakra was out of rhythm. But only so little, that Mizuna would have disregarded it completely as her own inattentiveness and would have forgotten about it — hadn't he behaved so strangely. It wasn't as if she would outright accuse him of being someone he wasn't, but … Mizuna was a formidable sensor type, not only stemming from her bloodline, but also from the necessity to have a good sense about surrounding chakra, when going on single missions. Her ability in sensing chakra had saved her life more than once, so she was used to listen to her instincts. And those were screaming bloody murder at her.

Mizuna did not wait, until the teams had gathered their rolls and entered the forest. She vanished in a hard shunshin, just to almost set off the traps around her apartment in her haste. There was no time to loose. Her gut told her, that she had sensed something possibly dangerous.  
The few short sentences were briefly written and the scrolls thoroughly sealed by Mizuna. No one would be able to read the contents of the first scroll, except for the Mizukage, who was the only other person than Mizuna, who knew how to open the seal. It was a seal Mizuna had invented herself and that served solely for the privacy of any correspondence between the two Terumī women. Any other attempt to read, open or destroy the roll, would result in suffering from severe poisoning. With one short whistle, a swallow entered into Mizuna's room. Once Mizuna had bound the scroll safely to the bird, it flew into the sky and vanished rapidly.

Now, there was only one other person, Mizuna trusted enough to talk to. She took the other scroll with her, as she hurriedly left her flat, although she took at least the time to reactivate her traps with a small pulse of her chakra.  
It was only minutes later, that she stood in front of the Hokage's door and knocked. She was bid in by his weathered voice. The Hokage smiled at her, which she answered by a smile of her own. Izumo was also in the office and seemed rather nervous for his usual very laid back demeanour. Mizuna bowed, her smile still in place, but her eyes shortly narrowed at the Hokage, before she lifted her head again and greeted Izumo with a smaller nod. The young man was deeply unsettled, there was no doubt about it anymore.  
There was definitely something fishy going on …

"Mizuna-san", Hiruzen said pleasantly, but his eyes were sharp and Mizuna knew, that he caught onto her small signal. "How can I help you?" Mizuna produced the second sealed scroll she had just written from her pouch and handed it to the Hokage.  
"This came from Kirigakure", she said still smiling, "it's sealed and I'm afraid that only you can open it."  
"Do you know it's purpose?", Hiruzen asked with furrowed eyebrows.  
"I'm sorry, Hokage-sama", Mizuna shook her head. "I could guess, that it probably is because of the exams, but I can't know for certain." Hiruzen narrowed his eyes slightly.  
"Thank you, Mizuna-san", he then said and put the scroll inside his clothing. "You are dismissed." Mizuna nodded, bowed and left the office. She had accomplished what she wanted and she knew, that Hiruzen knew how to understand her coded words and how to open the seal she had put on the information. A hard feature appeared around Mizuna's mouth, as she looked out of a window into the direction of the forest. She could do nothing more now…she could only wait for answers from the two persons she had trusted her suspicions with.

* * *

 **Next time in RED:**

"How's Maru?", she asked, as she moved another piece, her mind still occupied with Asuma's mild chiding.

"Loud and lazy", Asuma huffed annoyed. "I don't know, from whom he's gotten that, but he's shouting nonsense all day. He doesn't do all too well in the Academy either. I might need to train him a little, so he at least graduates." Mizuna couldn't help but to giggle at Asuma's exasperated dramatics. But she knew by his annoyance how much he cared. A genuine smile softened her features. Asuma would be a great father one day.

* * *

Now that was interesting to write...

especially Mizuna and Kakashi fighting with each other over how to train the kids. i wanted to show, how much they both cared...in their respective, rather strange way at least.

Kirigakure has always been fascinating to me and to explore it a bit more with this story is surely nice. Although I hope, I didn't dump too much informaton on you?

Read you soon,

Murphy


	6. Chapter 6 - Just One Smoke

Hi lovelies,

here I am again with another chapter.

This one is a bit...let's just say I'm nervous about it. Mizuna gets orders from her Mizukage, but there's also some sibling bonding with Asuma and last but not least, another night at the TonTon.

Hope you enjoy! :)

Read you soon,

Murphy

* * *

 **Chapter 6 - Just One Smoke**

* * *

[music recommendation: Red Hot Chili Peppers - My Friends]

* * *

It was the next daybreak, when Mizuna heard from her Mizukage. The bird found her brooding on top of Hashirama's head. She had tried to meditate, but her meditating had soon morphed into dark brooding about the strange chakra of the grass genin. It bugged her to no end, that she just didn't know what exactly felt wrong about him. A sheer film seemed to lay over her eye, as if she could see figures, but no details. It frustrated her. Deeply.

As she observed the bird flying towards her, Mizuna sighed and rubbed her tired face. Sleep had eluded her completely, as it did more often than it was healthy. The last time Mizuna had slept soundly, without her instincts constantly monitoring her surroundings was … heck, she couldn't even remember. If she had to guess, she would say some time before her graduation.  
No, that wasn't true. Her father had still been alive at that time and he had always made her feel safe. Well, then she had to date the last time she had slept soundly and safely for a whole night to some time before a beautifully blue-skyed day in early May eleven years ago. That day had ended many things.  
Mizuna knew, that her body needed enough sleep in order to stay healthy regardless of the strain the life of a kunoichi put it through. There were things, that could help against the night terrors … jutsu or pills; but Mizuna was too paranoid to even think about using them, except when she slept in the same room as her aunt. And those nights had decreased significantly over the years. Mei was very busy and, to be fair, Mizuna was out on missions most of the times either way.  
A small, timid voice in the back of her head, wondered for how long her body will be able to handle so much stress and strain. But then Mizuna shrugged the thought off. The missions she did, would kill her rather sooner than later … that was, if she didn't finally step up her game a bit and master a few things she had been working on for an embarrassingly — and very frustratingly — long time. Doton for example … or the summoning jutsu …

Mizuna sighed again and untied the scroll from the bird with gentle fingers and a small thank you on her lips, before it flew up into the sky again. She cut her thumb on one of the shuriken in her pouch to draw blood and placed the few characters onto the seal that would open the scroll.

Only take action, if absolutely necessary.  
Keep a low profile!

Mizuna's mouth corners turned down, once she read the message of her aunt. The next second the paper flared up in fire, before it crumbled to ashes slowly falling from her palm. She would obey the instructions of her aunt. It did not please her, but the redhead could read the order of a superior mixed with worry from a close family member edged into the handwriting. Mizuna lifted her head and wistfully looked to the forest, where the sun slowly rose in a deep red colour. She didn't like to simply wait. She didn't _do_ waiting. Her patience was way too thin for that.  
"Blood has been spilt this night", Mizuna murmured at the crimson morning sky, her eyebrows furrowed in concern and a hard line appeared around her thinly pressed together lips.  
Playtime was apparently over and she had to sit down and watch from the sidelines. Mizuna hissed in frustration and clicked her tongue, as her annoyance only grew.

But her aunt was right. This was not her village, although her father had been a shinobi of the Leaf. And with all those nations around, she could not run where she wanted and reveal herself in such an obvious way. She bit the inside of her lower lip, as her expression morphed into an absolutely unreadable one. If she needed to interfere and fight, she would have to restrain herself from using her fūinjutsu techniques. The people of Konoha might accept an Uzumaki, but the other nations would report to their superiors and Mizuna couldn't have that, now could she — not yet at least. But for the moment, she needed to wait and that was, what she did.

Well, she didn't _just_ wait. She didn't think she was even _physically able_ to do nothing at all.  
By the time most of the inhabitants of Konohagakure were slowly waking up, Mizuna had found her way to the private training field next to the Hokage Tower. Without even making a conscious decision, the kunoichi started some katas designed to slowly ease the muscles into a comfortable warmth and stretching them enough, so that the following, more demanding exercises, wouldn't damage anything.  
Her muscles tightened and loosened underneath her slightly tanned skin, as she smoothly worked through her katas, slowly increasing the strength she used and the level of difficulty. She preferred this over mediation. With the constant play of her muscles, she felt like she could actually calm her loud mind for at least a bit. But she also knew, that she needed to give her body phases of rest. Which honestly annoyed her more than it probably should. A healthy balance of training, meditating, sparring and perfecting one's natures, that was desirable.  
Maybe she would work on her Doton later … she definitely needed the training, although she did not particularly enjoy working on _that_ specific nature release.

* * *

Sweat run down Mizuna's neck, trailing further along her spine. Harsh huffs of breath tried to release her lungs from the strain. Her muscles tensed a bit more. Then her foot shot out in a perfect kick, her body flung itself into the air by the momentum, turned and landed in another bone-crushing stance, fire erupted where her fists met the earth. Sweat dropped from her forehead onto the dusty ground of the training field.  
The short spike of a familiar chakra let her know, that someone was approaching. Mizuna rose from her crouching position and wiped away the sweat on her face with the back of her left hand. Her grey eyes fixed on one certain point of the wall surrounding the private training ground. Only a second later, the bulky figure of a shinobi jumped over it and landed next to her.  
"Father told me to bring you something to eat", Asuma said, as he sat down cross-legged onto the ground. Mizuna looked up and saw the sun high in the blue sky. Her brows furrowed. She hadn't noticed how late it already was.  
"Sit", Asuma grumbled and opened a bag he had carried, just so that a delicious smell wafted over to Mizuna. Her stomach growled and it was only then, that she realised how hungry she was. Without further hesitation, the redhead let herself plop down unceremoniously next to Asuma.  
"Since when were you training?", the shinobi asked, as he produced a scroll from his flak jacket.  
"Don't know…sunrise?", Mizuna answered and opened the box that contained her fried rice and vegetables. "Itadakimasu", she added, before she delved into devouring the meal. A soft moan escaped her lips at the taste. She really had been hungry. Her gaze was decidedly avoiding Asuma's, though. His groan at her answer had been enough to tell her, that he wasn't happy with her training so much without enough sustenance. Truth be told, it was rather foolish.

"Place your pieces", Asuma's dark voice ordered and only then Mizuna looked up. In between them stood a shōgi board and her adopted brother had already placed his pieces. Mizuna huffed.  
"It's not worth setting up, I'll be training again once I've eaten", the redhead said and made a gesture towards her already half-eaten meal, what gained her a hard glare from Asuma.  
"You're not. Set your pieces and rest your body", he ordered again and this time Mizuna listened with a sigh. She wouldn't fight Asuma, when he was in full older brother mode. With the hand not holding the chopsticks, she placed the pieces as necessary to start the game. Once she was finished, she made the first move.  
"You shouldn't have attacked Kakashi like that", Asuma said as a side note, while he himself moved his first piece.  
"But—", Mizuna started up, anger sparkling in her grey orbs.  
"No buts", Asuma interrupted and his brown eyes bored into hers, "you might've been right to do so, but not in such a setting. You wouldn't move a piece without setting up the best environment beforehand, right?" He mentioned towards the board, where their game was laid out.  
"You carefully stage the surroundings, so that your actual move is perfect." His large hand delicately picked up a piece and set it down, moving Mizuna's pieces into an unpleasant situation.  
"You're not half-bad at shōgi", Asuma continued, while Mizuna thought of her next move, "so learn to translate that to your interaction with people. Kakashi Hatake is a dangerous, long-suffering war-veteran. He very well could have reacted violently to you questioning him so publicly. Especially _you_ should be able to understand that." He took a pull from his cigarette, as his eyes held her prison. She knew, what he was trying to say. It had been foolish of her. Very foolish so.

But she hadn't thought of him as a war-veteran … which could very well have been a deathly mistake. There was a reason, why Asuma had spiked his chakra, before he had entered the area she had trained in. It wasn't uncommon, that paranoia and instinct caused accidents among comrades. Mizuna herself was one of the jumpier individuals and usually had to be approached with great caution. Startling her could be the last thing one did. And she hadn't even fought in one of the Great Wars.  
Kakashi on the other hand had done that, that was common knowledge and listed in his Bingo Book entrance. But she hadn't thought about the possibility of him being unstable, as Asuma implied. Sorrow could break people. Turn them hostile within a moment's notice. Trigger aggression with only one false word. Mizuna knew that all too well. She had completely dismissed the possibility of Kakashi Hatake suffering from his experiences. It made her feel deeply ashamed.

"I'm sorry", she mumbled and moved her king-piece into safety, after she took a few more bites from her meal.  
"I'm not the one you need to apologise to", Asuma answered sternly. Mizuna simply nodded and sighed. Apologising to Kakashi Hatake … that was one awkward situation she had manoeuvred herself into. Not an uncommon situation though with her temper.  
But at the same time she felt, as if she could understand him maybe a bit better, now that Asuma had opened her eyes to the terrors of the past. She was ashamed, that she had dismissed any emotional damage due to his aloof, rude personality. A thought stirred itself deep within her mind. The reminder of Asuma, that not only the people who wore their sorrows openly had suffered, made Mizuna feel as if she could understand the ninja around her a bit better. She should have known better, though. Hiding past terrors was something she was familiar with on a very personal level. Which made her mistake even more foolish. It just showed her again, that she still had a lot to learn.

"How's Maru?", she asked, as she moved another piece, her mind still occupied with Asuma's mild chiding.  
"Loud and lazy", Asuma huffed annoyed. "I don't know, from whom he's gotten that, but he's shouting nonsense all day. He doesn't do all too well in the Academy either. I might need to train him a little, so he at least graduates." Mizuna couldn't help but to giggle at Asuma's exasperated dramatics. But she knew by his annoyance how much he cared. A genuine smile softened her features. Asuma would be a great father one day.  
"He's hanging around Naruto a lot", Mizuna offered as an explanation, what only caused a larger sigh from Asuma and another short laugh from herself.  
"And I thought you were demanding…", Asuma mumbled with a mischievous grin at his adopted sister. Mizuna smiled innocently, knowing full well, that she had been a handful as a kid herself … probably still was. A warmth spread in her chest. She had missed Asuma dearly. The many letters they wrote to each other on an almost weekly basis couldn't compensate what they shared, when they were around each other.  
It wasn't very often, that they had had time to sit down with each other and just simply share their company in the last months. But whenever they had the opportunity, just like at the moment, they had made it worth their while.

Mizuna never completely lost the more softened expression and Asuma also seemed less stressed, as they continued their game in silence. They never had needed many words to understand each other. It was enough, that they could _feel_. Their chakras wafted against each other, mixing slightly to a warm breath of air surrounding them comfortably.  
"When you win, I'll spar with you", Asuma offered with a grin. Mizuna's eyes light up and she found a new motivation to really make an effort in the game.  
"Oh, you're on!", she accepted his challenge enthusiastically and Asuma's responding laughter grumbled over the field, resolving the tension into nothing but comfort and bliss. It always warmed his heart to see a bit of what Mizuna had been like as a child. Free spirited. Enthusiastic. Cocky. Not that controlled soldier she was most of the times now.

Mizuna's mind was so at ease in that moment, that she didn't even notice that she didn't urge for a cigarette at all.

* * *

[music recommendation: Lord Horan - The Night We Met]

* * *

Two days packed with training and meditating, as well as many disturbing facts about the second test and some more shōgi games shared with Asuma later, Mizuna found herself on her way to the TonTon again, Asuma and Kurenai next to her. Apparently they were all celebrating, that their teams passed the second test.  
Again it was as if Mizuna entered another world, once she had passed over the threshold of the bar. But she understood all too well. Life as a shinobi was hard and often took more from one, than one was able to give, so to have at least one secret hide out to recover from all the bad things in the world, was necessary to keep one's sanity in some way. An escape for troubled minds. The music just loud enough to cover any thought and the atmosphere laid back, as it gave comfort in others without any intimacy or vulnerability.

When the three of them walked towards their usual spot, there was no one there, except for a rather lonely looking Iruka. Mizuna's brows furrowed at his slouched form. "Iruka-kun! You're already here?", Asuma thundered in high spirits and let himself fall down on the chair next to the teacher.  
"You alright?", Kurenai asked, once she sat down on Asuma's other side. It was clear, that the chūnin didn't even try to hide his bad mood, although it might have been difficult either way in front of his highly perceptive jōnin friends.  
"Yeah", Iruka answered and stared at the bottom of his glass, that once was filled with whiskey.  
"Really?", Mizuna asked, while she took the stool next to Iruka, her steel-grey eyes bare of any emotion, but her face and voice expressing concern. Again, she conveyed the emotions, that swam right on the surface of her mind. She had learnt, that never showing any emotions could be just as dangerous as showing too many emotions. Regarding certain … circumstances, she had learnt early in her life to show enough genuine emotions to not be suspicious, but keep hidden, what she truly thought at all costs. It made her trustworthy enough, but not predictable. A skill, that was largely accountable for her still breathing body.

"Ah, Mizuna-san", Iruka sighed deeply, "they just grew up so fast." He sighed again and looked heartbreakingly forlorn. Mizuna felt a bit strange because of his words. Firstly, she wasn't good with strong emotions directed towards her. It mostly overwhelmed and troubled her, for she didn't know how to handle that. Secondly, it wasn't long ago, when she heard the same sentence uttered regarding her own growth by at least two people. The tingling feeling of awkwardness rushed over her skin, as she looked at Asuma for some help, but he only shook his head with a grin.  
"They can't be sweet, little kids for all their life, Iruka-kun", he said nonetheless. "Stop that long face, before you scare Mizu-chan off and start to celebrate with us. You taught great students." His voice had become soft and reassuring at the end. Iruka had blushed slightly at the mention of Mizuna's name and had immediately sat a bit straighter, but it was the last sentence, that made him genuinely smile again.  
"That I have", he finally said with an unbelievably proud swell of his chest. That moment was chosen by Maito Gai to enter the bar, dragging a rather unimpressed Kakashi with him. Gai as always with long strides and a wide grin on his face that showed his white teeth, while Kakashi gave a vibe of as much laziness as he possibly could, his Icha Icha Paradise in his hand and his one visible eye unfalteringly trained on the pages. Gai took the place next to Mizuna and Kakashi let himself plop down on the stool next to that with a friendly 'yo' and a short glance up, before his eye went back to the pages of his book. Iruka seemed a bit miffed at Kakashi's appearance, but Mizuna didn't care much. She was not one to indulge in stranger's drama and for her, everyone except for Asuma was still a stranger.

Although she had come to get to know the others rather well over the last few days. Even Kakashi…to please her instincts - still paranoia - she had observed him every now and then and to her utter shock, she had discovered, that she had been unjust to him.  
Her judgement had been harsh and made on assumptions. Once Asuma had told her, that the grey-haired jōnin had endured hardships past what one could imagine without specifying them, she had actually found, that they weren't that different from each other. Where she had thought him to be rude, he was actually distant out of fear of growing close. Mizuna had been able to see past his mask, not literally, but at least behind the dry humour and aloofness, that hid something Mizuna was very familiar with. Guilt. Pain. Fear of loosing loved ones. Loneliness.  
She still didn't understand him truly. Mizuna knew, that she had just scratched at the surface, because for her to understand his character on a deeper level, they hadn't spent enough time together. But she at least, could find some of her own characteristics within his behaviour and knew painfully well, that she had been so damn unjust.

"The first round is on me!", Asuma laughed still in unbreakable high spirits and waved at the waiter to bring them something. Mizuna couldn't help but to smile fondly at her adopted brother, as he brought her out of her musings in such a way. It was a very relieving sight to see him so happy, since times like those were scarce and precious. She didn't see the look Kakashi gave her, as he took in the rare, _deep_ emotions, that softened her face. So much compassion … it worried the silver-haired jōnin.  
"Even you?", Iruka asked addressed to Mizuna, who just smiled sweetly at him.  
"Please don't patronise me, Iruka-san", she said with a sweet voice that promised nothing but pain, if he disagreed with her. The glasses were filled without any objections and soon raised high into the air.  
"To all our kids, who finally grow up and become more awesome than they already were!", Asuma pledged a toast and they all cheered, before they drank their liquor in one go. Mizuna shook herself at the bitter taste, but grinned as the booze warmed her from inside.  
"Now it's on me", Iruka exclaimed and waved to get them another round. Once their glasses were filled again, they rose them into the air.  
"To the students growing and getting new teachers, so that they won't forget their old ones, while pursuing greatness!" Again they all drank in unison. And again Mizuna shook herself a bit, but the smile on her lips seemed to be held in place easier than before.  
"Have you ever had your own team, Mizuna-san?", Gai asked and showed Mizuna his pearly whites.  
"I have trained some, but I had never an own team", she answered and smirked darkly. "I'm not particularly in charge of genin."  
"No way!", Iruka interjected loudly, his eyes wide. "You're way too beautiful and sweet to hang around with guys like T&I!" The liquor and the whiskey he had beforehand, had obviously cured his shyness. A thought that led Mizuna to chuckle softly before answering his accusations of sorts.  
"And since when is that a criteria to fit Torture and Interrogation Forces or not?", she shot back with a wink.  
"So you are?", Iruka asked with eyes like saucers and a pale green shade around his nose. He had never been very fond of those, who carried out the more questionable missions.  
"I never said that", Mizuna answered with a slightly tilted head and a sweet grin, that again had nothing really sweet about it.

"Now, it's on me", Kurenai said, as she handed out the glasses once again filled with liquor, that she had taken from the waiter. "To the beauty of seeing your wards succeed and surpass themselves every day!", she pledged the toast and again they all drank in one go.  
"It's tradition, that whenever we celebrate a team, the team leader has to buy the shots", Iruka explained to Mizuna, as he leaned a bit into her direction. He did however stay in the closer position, even after he finished talking. His body heat radiating off of him and hitting Mizuna's skin. She was unsure, if she liked that or not. For the moment she would tolerate it.  
"That's a good tradition", Mizuna smiled and meant honestly what she said. There was so much positivity in the air, it was contagious and had her smiling widely. Truth be told, it could also be due to the alcohol, but usually Mizuna could hold her liquor. Kakashi started to lazily raise his hand, to signal the waiter, but Gai shot up from his seat and ran towards the bar to get his order before Kakashi.  
"Works every time", the silver-haired shinobi grinned, which caused everyone at the table to laugh. Gai was back even before they all could take another breath and put a glass of liquor in front of everyone.  
"To the undying power that comes with the blossoming youth and strength of our wonderful students!" Gai rose his glass with his voice and they all followed his example. Mizuna put her head back, as she drank the booze in one go. An uncharacteristic giggle escaped her, as she put her glass down.  
"What is it?", Asuma immediately asked.  
"I just imagined, what my oba-san* would say, if she could see me now", Mizuna answered with a loud and clear laughter that sounded like chiming bells. It was a rare, but wonderful sound.  
"Kami no!", Asuma joined her laughter with his booming bass. "She would have our heads and yell something about tainting her precious niece."  
"Probably", Mizuna chuckled as her laughter died and her expression sobered. She remembered her father always telling her, that the people one could drink with, were the right people to befriend. Sure, she hadn't understood it, when he had told her that, but now she couldn't help but to think of his words.  
"Do you miss her?", Iruka asked gently and put a hand on her shoulder. Mizuna looked up, right into his chocolate brown puppy-eyes. For a second, Iruka could have sworn, that he had seen plain torture in her eyes, but then she had grinned sadly and her eyes had returned to their expressionless grey.  
"Sometimes", Mizuna answered vaguely. But before any other could say something about that, the waiter put down the next round of shots. Kakashi had apparently ordered them, when none of them had looked.  
"To the great teamwork our students showed these past days", was all Kakashi said and while Mizuna drank her liquor, she couldn't help but to feel a bit guilty. Kakashi had been right. His team possessed great teamwork. The happenings of the last few days in the Forest of Death had just shown her, how wrong she had been about accusing Kakashi of not leading his team properly.  
Argh. She hated to be wrong and hated even more to be unjust. Her heart grew heavy. It couldn't be helped. She knew, that her conscience wouldn't rest until she had apologised to Kakashi. Although she would delay it as long as possible.

It was some time and a few more drinks later, when Mizuna felt a certain urge. She pulled her pack of cigarettes from the pouch on the side of her leg and stood from her stool while doing so. With a seasoned tap, she produced one cigarette from it and put it into the corner of her mouth.  
"You coming?", she asked Asuma and nodded into the direction of the entrance.  
"Nah, next time", Asuma declined and returned to explaining Kurenai what was special about the InoShikaCho-formation. Mizuna simply shrugged and already turned around. "I'll come with you", Iruka said suddenly and rose from his seat.  
"That's nice, thank you", Mizuna smiled at him and they both left the bar.  
The air was still warm, but not as humid as Mizuna was used to. The tranquillity of the lifeless street sobered her up a bit and she was glad to be out there for a while. With a swift movement, she lit the match and took the first pull from her cigarette.  
"You know, that this is killing you, right?", Iruka asked, while Mizuna puffed out the smoke and leaned herself against the wall next to the entrance.  
"Ah", Mizuna nodded consensual. "But — how does the saying go? — what doesn't kill you, makes you feel alive." She grinned at him and took another pull. Iruka looked at her, standing there, one foot up, casually leaned at the wall; her red hair pooling in wild waves around her and her face every now and then slightly light up, whenever she took a pull from her cigarette.  
"Ummm…Mizuna-san", Iruka began and Mizuna's grey eyes shot to him. "How do I put it…I…I'm really happy, you ran into me." Mizuna saw his cheeks colour in a dark red.  
"Yeah", she answered and smiled at him, her eyes with a rare softness in them. "Me too."  
"R-really?", Iruka's eyes went wide, as a bright grin spread over his whole face. "I never thought a girl so pretty and talented and amazing as you, would ever talk to someone like…me." Mizuna couldn't help but to blush slightly at what he said. She wasn't prone to flattery, but Iruka had such an innocence around him, that she felt how honest his compliments were and that was something rather rare.  
"Why? You're a nice guy and great friend", she answered and took another pull from her cigarette to cool her burning cheeks down. Iruka came a step closer, his hopeful eyes fixed on Mizuna and such a kind smile on his lips, that she could feel her cheeks again paint themselves in a faint pink, although she was not sure whether she liked where this was leading or not.  
"So…do you think, that we could grab a cup of coffee s-sometime?", Iruka asked, almost whispered. "Just you an—"  
"Yo."

Kakashi exited the TonTon with a smiling eye and a leisure wave. Iruka immediately shut his mouth and glared surprisingly hard at his silver-haired friend.  
"Asuma said something about you being too long outside with his sister", Kakashi said, still holding the door open. "Just so you know he's pissed, Iruka." His eye was squinted in his signature grin and Iruka's eyes immediately widened in fear. He unconsciously took a step away from Mizuna, before he bowed deeply towards her.  
"I'm sorry, Mizuna-san", he rushed to say, "we…we're going to talk another time." With that he vanished through the door Kakashi held open for him, to perform some damage control and ensure, that he was not eaten alive by the son of the Hokage.  
"You scared him off, Hatake-san", Mizuna said, but didn't really seem all that bothered about it. The faint blush slowly vanished and she stubbed her cigarette out in one of the ashtrays, that seamed the windowsills of the bar.  
"Did I?", Kakashi replied with an innocent tone in his voice, that indicated, that he knew all too well what he had done. His eye was squinted, as he looked at her and Mizuna could have sworn, that his mask hid a devilish smirk.  
"Hn", the nondescript sound escaped Mizuna, as she averted her eyes from his. She again pulled the pack of cigarettes from her pouch and produced another cigarette from it. Again, she lit it with a match and took the first pull.

Mizuna wasn't sure, if she was comfortable with Kakashi or not. Since she had discovered more of his personality and started to understand him, her fight or flight instinct wasn't as distinctive around him as before, but… she couldn't deny, that he intimidated her in a way. His skill, although covered under an efficient air of laziness and harmlessness, was known to be deadly without fail. The buzzing chakra right underneath the tight muscle tissue, that was only rarely on display, as he usually covered his skin, was an indicator for how strong he could be. And to be honest…Mizuna was certain, that she would loose a fight against him, especially with her current level of skill.  
To her utter surprise, she felt as if he himself was not completely at ease around her. It were small things really. He always made sure, that she was on the side with his visible eye. His chakra seemed to get a bit more cautious, more battle-ready around her. And sometimes Mizuna felt, as if he observed her with the caution one would bestow on a wounded animal in close proximity.  
She sighed, as she took another pull from her cigarette. Apparently it was safe to say, that they both didn't know what to make of each other.

"Does it bother you?", Kakashi asked after a while and Mizuna furrowed her eyebrows, as she sought for the right answer. May it be the alcohol or her beginning understanding of his strange character; Mizuna decided to humour a conversation with him. And it had absolutely nothing to do with how his smooth baritone seemed to dance over her skin in it's lazy boredom. Definitely not.  
"I don't know", she finally said. "He's sweet, but…", she made a vague gesture with the hand holding the cigarette, before she brought it to her mouth and took another pull. "You know?", she finished lazily as she exhaled the smoke into the night air.  
Mizuna looked up to Kakashi, who had made himself comfortable and leaned against the wall next to her in a rather similar way, his hands in the pockets of his trousers and the side of his face, that was not completely covered by his mask and hitai-ate, turned towards her. He shook his head slightly to indicate, that he didn't quite get her.  
"Hmmm", Mizuna sighed, as she scrunched up her nose, while she thought how she could put it. "Iruka is…kind and caring and good looking…but maybe he's just…too sweet?…", she took another pull from her cigarette and when she exhaled the smoke, she looked after it. "I just get the feeling, that…he's too kind for this world…for me…he's all light and no darkness…", her tone had become melancholic, but then she blinked and she looked incredulously at Kakashi, "and I have absolutely no idea, why I'm telling you this."  
Kakashi hummed as if agreeing, but offered nothing more than a smile and Mizuna snorted amusedly at his antics. She could have probably blamed it all on her intake of alcohol, but she was nowhere near drunk enough to be able to actually do that.

They fell in a surprisingly comfortable silence, while Mizuna contently smoked her cigarette. For the first time, she didn't feel annoyed by his presence and somewhere in the back of her head, she knew, that if she wanted to apologise for her behaviour it was now.  
She could feel the soft buzzing of his chakra next to her. It was like the thunderstorm one could see approaching from the horizon. Mizuna had always liked the feeling of thunderstorms. It had calmed her. And even now, although the elemental force was squeezed into the body of a human, it still calmed her. Mizuna felt more than she controlled it consciously, that her own chakra calmed down to a warm smoldering of heat in reaction to his calmness.  
Her instincts didn't scream for her to take action, to either remove herself from the threat or eliminate the threat itself. Grey orbs widened a fraction, as she realised, that she was truly comfortable at the moment. Maybe now, at such a rare, calm, understanding moment between them, would be best to apologise for her childish, unjust behaviour towards him.

"Terumī-san—"  
"Hatake-san—"

Mizuna's head shot up, as she looked at Kakashi, who seemed equally surprised. Mizuna's grey eyes met Kakashi's dark one.  
"You first", he smiled and again, his eye squinted slightly at the expression, although nothing else could be seen. Mizuna cleared her throat and pushed herself away from the wall. Her heartbeat increased, as she stepped in front of Kakashi, who observed everything with mild interest. She was not sure, why she was so nervous. A thought stirred at the back of her mind, but before she could catch it, it was gone and she decided to blame her nervousness on the fact, that she had to apologise for a mistake.  
With a graceful movement, Mizuna bowed her upper body deeply, surprising Kakashi completely.  
"I wanted to apologise", Mizuna began, her voice without any malice and surprisingly timid, "for being so harsh and publicly criticising your teaching methods, which was obviously unjustified. It was not my place to doubt you so openly. Please forgive me, Hatake-senpai."  
Kakashi coughed harshly, as if he choked on something and Mizuna's head immediately shot up to check, whether he was alright or not. His head was slightly tilted away from her, one hand covered his masked mouth and strangely enough, there was a faint pink blush on what was visible of his right cheek.  
"No need to apologise", he hastily said hoarsely and cleared his throat, while he focused his eye down onto Mizuna. "You were right about Sakura…", he scratched the back of his head and his eye was completely closed, as he smiled at her in slight embarrassment, "and…sorry for calling you a brat…you know, back then."  
"Ah", Mizuna chuckled lightly, honestly, "I probably was a brat, when I was young." She shrugged nonchalantly with her shoulders and stepped towards the entrance of the bar. Mizuna opened the door and turned to look at Kakashi once more. A dark smirk on her lips, that would have made lesser men quiver in fear, if it wasn't for the silken softness in her grey eyes.  
"I still don't like you, Hatake-san."  
With that, she vanished into the laughter and chatter of the TonTon and the door clicked shut. Kakashi slightly bent his head down, as he pulled his hands from the pockets of his trousers and crossed his arms over his chest.  
"Huh", he huffed, as he couldn't fight the traitorous smile, that annoyingly enough seemed to be glued on his masked face.

* * *

*oba-chan = endearing term for aunt


End file.
